


Far Over The Misty Mountains

by LilxLeprechaun



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-03-05
Packaged: 2018-01-10 20:54:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 48,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1164413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilxLeprechaun/pseuds/LilxLeprechaun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the party of 13 seek the assistance of the burgulr Bilbo Baggins, the meet an unexpected aquaintance, who tries her hardest to help thier cause and soften the hearts of the dwarves. Kili/OC with maybe a bit of Fili and Thorin thrown in ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Unexpected Party

'There is no room for any more Dwarves in my pantry!' Cried a frustrated Bilbo Baggins as he stood watching the hulking men wander back and forth past him, dishes full of food clutched in their hands. Gandalf, who was lazily lounging against the mantlepiece, his pipe in his mouth grinned down at the hobbit.

"Do not worry Bilbo, We are only waiting on one more of our Party."

Bilbo raised his eyebrows at the old wizard and wrung his hands in frustration. "Theres simply no more space! Theres no where to put them! And Why are they invading my home? Trampling dirt everywhere with their mucky boots ..." he ranted, earning nothing but a wry smile from the old man in grey.

"Do you have more food master burglar?" called Bombur from the far side of the pantry, his huge belly finding it hard to stay beneath the already buckling wooden table. "Uhhhh …" Bilbo stuttered, staring at the portly red haired dwarf, before darting into the kitchen to dig through the cupboards like the polite hobbit he had been brought up to be. Finding nothing, he exhaled loudly and rubbed his temples trying to soothe the headache that was beginning to worm its way into his head. He frowned, not wanting to disappoint his guests ... who were unwanted … but were guests all the same. He began to tear through cupboards high and low, but continued to find nothing but empty dishes and scraps that wouldn't be big enough to feed a mouse, let alone twelve hungry dwarves.

A quiet rap on the front door, immediately silenced the formerly rowdy dwarves and made Bilbo look up from a drawer, bashing his head on a open cupboard door as he straightened up. He cursed quietly under his breath, and rubbed the sore patch beneath his mop of light brown curls. He made his way to the door, all thirteen sets of eyes watching as his hand gripped the door knob, pulling it open.

Outside the door of Bag-end stood a small, female hobbit. She had her back to the entry way, looking out onto the peaceful village of Hobbiton below them. Her long cherry red hair, was hanging in a simple plait down her back, and she was clothed in a simple dark green tunic dress, the sleeves ending in a small bell shape around her tiny hands, which were holding a small white envelope. Hearing the door open she turned to face her old friend Bilbo Baggins, as a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Oh Bilbo! You will never guess what happened! I got a letter from my brother today, he's staying with some elves in the east of here. He sends us his love and wanted me to bring you this map to add to your collection!" she said animatedly, her big brown eyes lighting up as she told Bilbo her news. She wiped her feet carefully as she walked in to Bag-end, aware of house house proud Bilbo was, and not wanting to dirty his floors.

"Calla Took, my word! It has been years!" Gandalf rumbled as he approached the two hobbits, he looked affectionately down at the girl, ruffling her hair, pulling a few unfastened curls from the plait. She scalded the wizard as she tucked the loose hair back behind a tiny pointed ear, and pushed past him, making her way into the kitchen.

"Uh, Calla!" Bilbo called, hurrying after his kin to warn her so she would not be frightened by the twelve dwarves sat around his table who continued to watch them with baited breath. She continued on, grabbing the tiny kettle and filling it with water from a tall metal jug beside the sink.

"Calla, don't be alarmed, but I have company."

Calla's eyes grew as round as saucers as she looked up at the pantry's reflection in the window, past her cousin's head she could see the dwarves watching her intently. She swallowed and almost whispered "So I see." Calla had always been a shy girl, so she took a deep breath and turned around to face the small crowd that were crushed around Bilbo's tiny table, a tiny, unsure smile on her lips.

A moment passed by in silence as they observed one another, before Calla made the first move, her eyes flicking around the empty plates of the table, and across the still hungry faces of the dwarves, "So, is anyone still hungry? I have plenty of food in my pantry?" She asked, smiling as she saw all the faces light up, and a cheer went through the room, making a few painting shake on their fastenings.

When all the noise had died down, Bilbo edged closer and whispered In her ear "I'm so glad you said that, they've eaten me out of house and home."

She chuckled a little as she began gathering up a few of the plates closest to her.


	2. Getting to know you

"Leave that child, we can tidy away later." Said a kind looking white haired Dwarf, "Let us introduce ourselves." He stood from the wooden bench, enabling him to reach around the table to point to each Dwarf in turn.

"This is Nori, Ori and Dori" each one nodded kindly to her as their names were reeled off, "Oin and Gloin, Bifur and Bombur"

Calla's eyes widened her gaze settled on the next two dwarves to be introduced, they appeared to be the youngest in the company, with handsome faces, and deep set eyes. As she studied them, the dark haired one of the two leaned over to whisper in the blond's ear, his eyes never leaving her face.

"These are the Oakenshield brothers, Fili ..." The blond one chuckled and leaned across the table, taking Calla's hand in his kissing the back of it softly, before returning to his seat. "And Kili" Kili mimicked his brother's movements, kissing her hand, but he kept his dark eyes fixed on her as a hot, pink blush quickly flooded her normally pale skin at his intense stare.

"Bofur, My brother Dwalin, and I, young lady, and Balin" finished Balin, a twinkling grin lighting up his eyes as he observed the flush that had taken over her face.

Calla gave a coy smile and cleared her throat, "Well I'm Calla Took, and I can safely say it is a pleasure to meet you all. But please, let me clear away a few things and make you gentlemen more comfortable."

Bofur shook his head, the flaps on his hat jiggling madly. "Nonsense, … you gave mention to a further supply of food, why don't you take the lads here" He indicated the brothers with an open palm "And bring it back, so we can continue in our revels." a murmur of agreement sounded around the table, and Calla herself felt her stomach rumble quietly at the mention of food.

"Very well, if you gentlemen don't mind giving me a hand?" She started to confirm, quickly realising the brothers had extracted themselves from their place around the table and were standing by her side waiting to follow her.

"Of course not my lady." Kili murmured, as he nodded his head in a bowing gesture. Calla blushed once again and started towards the door, in an attempt to keep her face covered.

She gave Bilbo a quick hug before leaving, mumbling that she would be back soon. She inhaled a deep breath turning to look at the brothers who were watching her expectantly. 'I can't spend the entire time I talk to them blushing, it's just not done!' she thought to herself as she opened the door behind her, "It's not far, just the other side of the hill. We'll be back in no time."

"So you all live in these holes in the ground?" Kili asked as Calla pushed open her round, purple front door. The home's inner walls were a dark cherry wood with burgundy paint in between, making the main entry way look very long.

She chuckled as she led them down a corridor to the left to a kitchen, that was laid out in almost the same way as the one belonging to Bilbo Baggins.

"Yes, they're quite cosy I assure you. Just the right size for small people such as myself."

"I'm sure they are, we can hardly stand up in them." laughed Fili as he too snooped around the hallway, touching ornaments and studying paintings.

"You manage to do so a grand sight better than Gandalf" Calla answered as she started piling dishes high with various morsels from her home made bread rolls to sides of ham and bowls of green vegetables. "Kili, Fili, where are you?" she called, not wanting to search through her entire home to find the pair of mischievous brothers. But they heard her call and quickly came running, holding their arms out to carry the plates of food like pack donkeys.

After she had managed to laden the two dwarves with as much food as they could manage to carry, she grabbed a pair of large clay jugs filled to the brim with red wine, and tucked a few packets of loose tea into a leather satchel she had tied around her hips, and started to lead the trio back to Bag-end, plates and all.

The atmosphere in Bilbo's home had changed significantly since the trio had been gone collecting food. The cause of the sombre mood was a large Dwarf that sat at the head of Bilbo's dining rom table. He had a handsome, angular face and long thick, dark hair that contained streaks of silver, with a beard to match. Calla raised an eyebrow at Bilbo as she observed the new comer, the hobbit just shook his head in a defeated manner, and threw himself down into an old arm chair by the door, his head held in his small hands. She moved into the kitchen, placing the jugs down before returning to her cousin's side and wrapping him in a comforting hug.

Fili and Kili soon came around the corner of the pantry, laughing together about their balancing abilities. The stopped when they saw their uncle, their jubilant expressions being replaced by ones of determination. The placed the food on the table before greeting Thorin and resuming their seats.

"Uncle, this is Calla, she is the burglar Baggins' cousin." Fili started as he saw the Dwarf king hold the young hobbit woman with a steely expression.

"And Calla, this is Thorin Oakenshield. The king of our people." finished Kili, as he watched Calla walk into the kitchen to find an empty plate and glass. She placed them down in front of the important man, and curtsied slightly at the knee, "Would you care for some wine sir?" she asked politely, indicating the full jugs.

Thorin nodded and thanked her quietly, his voice barely above a rumble. "You must excuse us now my lady, our talk shall not be for ears of innocent young women such as yourself." He dismissed her, his eyes holding her gaze with equal intensity to his nephew.

Calla was going to object to being cast aside because of her sex, but thought better of it. Making her way into the hallway, and curling up on a chair, pretending to read a book while she secretly listened in to the Dwarves plan, and the occasional objection of Bilbo, who had given up being polite and had let his true interest in the quest start to take over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I just want to thank all you lovely readers who have reviewed and favourited! it means a lot to me. Hopelly you enjoyed this one too, so please let me know!
> 
> Happy reading to you all my little dwarf lovers ...


	3. Defending Bilbo

"There is a secret door way in the side of the mountain, here" Gandalf prodded at the spot on the map with one long, bony finger. "It is big enough for men or Dwarf to pass through, but far too small for a large dragon such as Smaug." The company nodded as they all studied the map intently.

"If it is secret, how are we to find it? This map tells us not how to open the door." Oin said as he looked over the top of his small, round glasses, his beady eyes fixed on the age worn ink.

"The map will have more to tell than meets the eye, you know as well as the rest of us how our people protected what is ours, with methods known to only a few." Balin scolded the younger dwarf quietly.

"Oh, Thorin, I entirely forgot, this ..." Gandalf exclaimed as he fished through a deep pocket in his robes, "Is yours. Your father entrusted it to me for safe keeping, until I had tracked you down, which, if I may say, was jolly hard." he handed the dwarf king an intricately carved key. Thorin eyed the object warily, as if unsure of its purpose.

"That, is the key to the mountain door." Gandalf cleared up, seeing the strange look in his companion's eye.

"So" Bilbo piped up, finally wanting to chip in to the conversation, "If you have a key, why would you need a burglar? Me, especially?"

Dwalin looked up from the map to the Hobbit, a strange glint in his eyes, one Bilbo especially did not like. "We need someone small, someone who can go unnoticed, that can sneak past Smaug. A creature he will not readily know the smell of, as he certainly has the whiff of Dwarf up his nostrils."

Bilbo choked on the mug of tea he had made in an effort to calm himself after the prior excitement of the evening. "Me? Sneak past a dragon? Oh, no no no, You will have to find your burglar elsewhere, I am a quiet Hobbit who likes to keep a quiet life."

Calla looked up from the book she was pretending to read when she heard the stuttered statement from her cousin. She knew as well as Bilbo did, that he had always had dreams of leaving Hobbiton for an adventure, not quite settled with the idea of just living his life out in Bag-end in front of the fire with a full pipe. When they were young they used to play games about adventures, meeting the other peoples of middle earth and becoming wealthy and knowledgeable from their journeys. But know that he was faced with the offer of one such adventure, Bilbo was shying away and refusing to be a part of it.

"I had my doubts as to whether you would be able to help us." Gloin said in a deep and booming voice, his eyes narrowed at Bilbo.

"He can't even defend himself in battle Thorin, you know he would only weigh us down, there has to be another way." chimed in Nori, his voice also laced with a threatening tone.

"Bilbo Baggins has much to offer, he my hide it well, but I can assure you, he would be an ally on your journey." Coaxed Gandalf, trying to calm the sudden tension that had descended onto the room, all the dwarves eyes fixed on the Hobbit.

"I fear you are over estimating your friend Gandalf. He has shown to be nothing but a coward when talking about what we may come to face." murmured Thorin, his heavy baritone barely above a whisper, but he still managed to command the attention of everyone in the room.

Calla in her chair in the corridor, enduring the silence for a moment longer before snapping her book shut loudly, deciding to support her cousin. As she entered the room, she gave a downtrodden looking Bilbo a smile, and reached out to him, squeezing his hand gently trying to bring him comfort.

All eyes were now settled on the young female hobbit, who's face had a look of thunder, her dark eyes shining in anger and her eyebrows brought together in a sharp frown. The dwarves waiting with baited breath for what was to come next.

Dropping Bilbo's hand Calla advanced to the table, casting her eyes across the faces of all thirteen men. "How dare you come in here and call Bilbo a coward! He has the blood of a Took, and Tooks have never been, nor will they ever be, cowards. He is just stunned that a ragamuffin band of Dwarves have turned up at his door unannounced, eaten his entire kitchen's worth of food, and almost demand that he join them on a dangerous quest. Give him time to think it over and perhaps you may yet have your burglar, but treat him as a defenceless child and you will get no where. We are decent folk, and we deserve to be treated as such."

The dwarves gaped at Calla as she finished her rant, each word leaving her mouth heavily underlined with venom. It would have been strange to any eye, a young, red haired hobbit stood reprimanding a group of fully grown dwarves like they were children, her hands planted firmly on her hips and her face stern.

A few moments of silence followed her outburst until Fili and Kili started to clap in unison. "Well, Miss Took, that was a fine telling off we received." Fili started, a cheeky smile on his lips.

"And you certainly show that there is some passion in that 'Took blood' you speak of." Kili finished, winking at her, his lips set into a kind smile.

"Yes!" piped up Bilbo, who had recovered some of his normal vigour, fuelled by Calla's urge of anger. "I am as adventurous as any Took. I wanted to know the terms, expenses and recompense that may arise from me joining your company."

Thorin nodded, and took a scroll from Balin, passing it to the Hobbit

"Very well Master Baggins, read away." he murmured, but his eyes never left Calla's face. "You certainly have some fire in you, Miss Took."

He stood from his chair, and walked towards the tiny red head, stopping just before he reached her, his eyes studying and taking in every detail of her, "Tell me, do you know how to fight?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! thank you so much for reading and commenting, seriously its the most emails I think i've got in one night ever! once again, I'm very grateful. I have been asked a few times whether I should make this a Kili/Calla/Fili love triange, What are anyone's thoughts? I'll happily take everyone's input into consideration!
> 
> Happy reading all!


	4. Stories by Firelight

Calla swallowed as she looked up into Thorin's steely dark eyes. Even though he was not too much taller than her, he was still very intimidating. "Uh, a little my lord." She shuffled her bare feet uncomfortably and straightened her dress with her hands. "As much as my father taught me to defend myself with a knife and the occasional fight with my brothers."

Thorin chuckled deeply and ruffled her hair with a hint of a smile.

"Chances of incineration?" Bilbo shouted out in disbelief, his voice reaching an unrecognisable pitch. Calla quirked an eyebrow and curtsied a little before walking to Bilbo's side, examining the text over his shoulder. The elegant calligraphy stated as plain as day 'in case of incineration'.

"Of course there's a chance." Bofur said cheerily, a toothy grin spread across his face, "Smaug is a dragon. It'd be a quick way to go … it'd just get a little warm, a quick burning sensation, and then poof … nothing!" The dwarf seemed a little over enthusiastic about this method of impending death, making the two hobbits exchange a slightly worried glance.

"Well, it's not the ideal way to go Bofur … I could think of at least one nicer way" Mocked Fili, as he drained his wooden mug of wine. Kili looked at his brother, a fake shocked look on his handsome face, "Really Fili, you can think of a better way? Who wants to die peacefully of old age, when you could be flayed alive by a huge flying rat." he joked, the end of his sentence dissolving into laughter.

The whole table flooded with laughter at Bofur's expense, who just looked at the Hobbits for any line of defence, a pleading look on his face. Calla shook her head, grabbing one of the wine jugs and filling the dwarves empty mugs, "I'm sorry Bofur" she laughed, "But even I'm not defending you in this one."

Bofur rolled his eyes and took a long gulp from his mug as she reached out for Kili and Fili's.

"Thank you, Miss Took." They said in almost perfect unison as she slid the cups back across the table to them.

"I don't think I can sign this." Bilbo sighed, "I don't think this is for me gentlemen, I'm sorry." Bilbo said after a great amount of thought. He walked straight past Calla, ignoring her stern gaze, and dropped the scroll onto the table in front of Thorin. "You will need to find another burglar. I wouldn't be any use to you." He looked up at the rest of the dwarves, who all wore crest fallen expressions, "Please make yourselves at home for the night gentlemen. I am afraid I'm away to bed." and with that he turned and walked down the corridor to his bedroom, not even stopping when he heard Calla follow him to the door calling his name, he just wanted some time alone.

Calla turned back to the room full of Dwarves, a sad expression on her face, 'maybe' she thought to herself 'just maybe, some time alone will help him to change his mind.' With her hands on her hips she walked back into the pantry, a soft look in her eyes, she knew how it felt to be let down, so she was determined to at least make up for their wasted journey. "You heard him gentlemen," She said to them "Make yourselves at home, the living room is this way." A loud scraping of chairs announced the company were following her into the much larger and comfier room.

"Do you think he will change his mind come the morning?" Asked Gandalf who was sitting in a chair by the window, sucking thoughtfully on the end of his pipe, his voice barely a whisper, but just loud enough for Calla, who was sat on a rickety stool beside him, to hear. "Maybe, I still have hope for the Took blood in him yet." she yawned, her body was aching all over with fatigue, and her feet ached from waiting on the dwarves all night.

The thirteen in question were sat around the fire, listening as Thorin told them a story of their kin, his voice deep and soothing. Calla felt her ears burning and found Kili watching her, his back against the stone of the fire place facing her directly. She smiled shyly under his attention, and he returned the gesture, getting up from his seat and making his way over to her.

"If you will excuse me young Took, I have somewhere to be." The old wizard said kindly as he excused himself, even though the mischievous twinkle in his eye said otherwise.

"May I?" asked Kili as he approached her waving his hand towards the seat Gandalf had vacated mere seconds before. Calla chuckled quietly, nodding her head, "by all means sir, sit where you will."

Without a word he lowered himself into the plush arm chair. A comfortable silence hung between the two as they continued to listen to Thorin's tale. "His voice is so comforting, I could listen to him telling stories for hours" Calla sighed, more to herself than to Kili, who grinned at the softly spoken statement.

"It used to be the biggest comfort to Fili and I, when we were young and first under his care." He started, his voice hushed low to not disturb the story being told, but loud enough to maintain Calla's attention. "On nights where we missed our parents, were sick, or just suffering from nightmares he would sit and tell us stories for hours until we fell asleep. I'm surprised he didn't run out of new tales to tell, we needed him that much."

"That's the loveliest thing I've heard in a while." she said to him, twisting on her stool to face the young dwarf a little better. The flickering yellow light from the fire played across his attractive features, highlighting the smooth cupids bow of his lips and adding a gold sheen to his dark, chocolatey eyes. She swallowed hard, trying to fight the crimson blush that was fighting to wind its way up her cheeks.

"My father was wonderful at telling stories too. When it was thundering out, he would gather my brothers and I on the rug before the fire and tell us stories of his adventures with Gandalf. I know my brothers were never that keen on it, but it used to sooth my fear of the thunder, but I think they miss it now as much as I do." Her eyes glazed over as she remembered back to being a small child.

Fighting back a second yawn, she rubbed her shoulders gently, feeling a chill wash over her small body.

"I think the lass is falling asleep Thorin." Balin said with a kind smile, nudging their leader and pointing his attention towards Calla and his youngest nephew. They were conversing quietly, the girl's eyes lighting up, as she spoke and Kili listening intently, his head occasionally tipping back in a low chuckle. A proud smile formed on the Dwarf king's lips as he watched the exchange, a well of pride building up in his chest, he had brought his boys up correctly, to be charming and caring with everyone and at every turn.

He stood from his chair, and clapped his hands together loudly gathering the room's attention. "I fear it is getting late, and we have a long journey ahead tomorrow, perhaps some rest is in order." He cast his eyes to Calla, who hopped down from her stool, ready to show the dwarves to any rooms they could sleep in.

Calla lead them down a long central hallway, stopping about half way down, and opening a door to her left revealing a large library. There were soft couches that lined the walls and plush arm chairs dotted around. "Nori, Ori, Dori, Oin and Gloin, this is where you can stay, I will bring you pillows and blankets around when I have settled everyone in." She said in a very mother hen fashion, ushering the five dwarves into the room, all mumbling their good nights as the door closed behind them. She then turned to the right, opening the door to a smaller, but just as comfy looking study, "Bombur, Bofur, Bifur, Balin and Dwalin, I hope Bilbo's study serves you well." The second group of five retired, nodding their goodbyes, leaving Calla alone in the hallway with the king and his heirs. "And for you gentlemen" she announced as she turned down a corridor to the left, and stopping at a pair of doors, "Can have the guest room. I know it isn't much, but I thought Royalty deserved the best comfort I could provide, and this door here" she indicated the one behind her. "Is Bilbo's room, so please don't hesitate to wake him if you need anything."

"Thank you Miss Took, do rest well" Fili said as he kissed her hand before entering the bedroom. "Good night my dear." wished Thorin who followed his nephew's movements, leaving Kili stood in the door with Calla.

"Can I help you with anything? Taking pillows and blankets around?" asked the youngest Oakenshield brother, as he hovered in the doorway.

"Thank you, but no. Get some rest Kili." she thanked him with a coy smile, "I will also bring you some things around. I doubt the three of you are going to try and fit in that bed."

"No, they're bloody not. They're too big for that now." came Thorin's stern voice from the bowels of the room. Kili's eyes widened at the accusation and his mouth opened and closed like a fish. She giggled and turned to walk away, when Kili stopped her, taking her tiny hand in his bigger one and placing a kiss on it. "Good night Miss Took."

Calla fought the blush back again as she nodded her farewell to the prince and headed back down the corridor to hand out the extra pillows and blankets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All! Heres another one for you, I seem to be on a roll today, I may even attempt to get the next chapter at least started. This is what happens when I have a day off and am bored! I'm proud of this one so I hope you all like it!
> 
> Happy reading!


	5. Starting Out

Kili tossed and turned on his temporary bed beside his brother. No matter how hard he tried, sleep continued to elude him, a loud sigh escaped his lips as he flopped onto his back, his dark eyes staring at the low ceiling.

"If you don't stop moving around, I'm going to march Bombur in here to sleep next to you. Then you'd have reason to be awake." Fili grumbled, his words coming out in a harsh whisper, as he buried his head deeper into the soft pillow.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Kili whispered feeling guilty for waking his older sibling.

"Well now that you have, what is it?" The blond asked, his eyes still firmly clamped shut and his breathing heavy with sleep.

"Many things really. I was talking with Calla about our younger days with Thorin earlier, it made me think."

"Made you think of our younger years? Or made you think of a certain young lady hobbit?"

Kili choked on his own saliva as he drew in a sharp breath. "I don't understand what you mean brother."

"Never mind Kili, just try to get some sleep. We'll be woken up soon, and you'll need your wits about you." murmured Fili as another wave of sleep over took him.

Kili took his brother's advice and squeezed his eyes shut willing sleep to envelope his body.

The smell of cooking bacon, sausages, eggs, various cheeses and fresh bread filled the house waking each dwarf, and they slowly began to pile into the pantry, where the delicious odour was eminating from. Kili and Fili ambled into the small room laughing and shoving each other childishly.

"Now, that is an impressive breakfast spread" commented Fili as he eyed the table, that was nearly sagging under the weight of all the food, and he slid into his place in the corner grabbing a plate as he went, his younger brother quickly following suit.

"Quick, fill your plate before Bombur wakes, if you intend to actually eat." Joked Bofur who was sat across the table from them, happily tucking into a plate of bacon and eggs. The three of them laughed as they started to eat their fill.

A lilting feminine tune announced Calla's arrival into the room before she was seen. Her hair was loose and flowing down her back in waves of scarlet curls, and she wore a blue work dress with a white apron hanging from her waist. She jumped a little when she turned seeing the princes had arrived at the table. "Good morning my lords." she called happily, filling two mugs with freshly squeezed orange juice and handing them to Fili and Kili.

"Morning miss." Kili began through his mouthful of bacon, earning a disgusted look from his brother whose nose wrinkled seeing the partially chewed food in his mouth.

"Kili, theres a lady present, you now better than that." The older of the pair scolded. Kili quickly held up a hand in apology, and promptly continued to eat in silence, with his mouth closed.

"Are you well this morning?" Fili asked her casually, he watched her bustle around the kitchen, flipping bacon and checking on the bread in the wood oven by her feet.

"Very well, thank you sir." She replied in a satisfied tone, as she pulled the tray out of the oven, a steaming golden loaf sitting atop it.

Kili and Fili exchanged glances, before the elder spoke up again, "We have names you know."

Calla turned sharply to gaze at them, unsure of what they meant, her eyebrows dipped in confusion.

"You could, you know, call us by our names … Sir and My lord make us feel old." Kili explained, his mouth forming a cheeky grin at the end of his sentence.

"And it gives them ideas far above their station." boomed the voice of Thorin as the king entered the kitchen.

"It does not!" defended the two heirs, as they finished their first plates of breakfast.

Calla just chucked at the interaction, realising the family unit had the most loving of relations, even if it wasn't the vibe they intended to give. She filled another jug with orange and brought it to Thorin, placing it in front of him. "And you sir, did you sleep well?" she asked, perching on the bench beside Bofur for a moment, her eyes resting on the face of the noble dwarf.

"Well enough, Would have been a sight better if these two hadn't spent all night talking." He grumbled, indicating his nephews with the piece of bread he held in his large hand. Calla looked up at the brothers who just shrugged at her sheepishly.

"I have packed you some food supplies for along the way, nothing much but it should keep you going for a few days at least." Calla said returning to the stove, quickly removing the pan of bacon before it burnt to a crisp. "Just some bread, a few meats, cheese and cake... although" she started, looking at the already considerably depleted amount of breakfast. "seeing you've nearly eaten the entire breakfast and there's only four of you up, I'm not so sure any more." a low chuckle surrounded the table as she served the newly cooked bacon on to the now virtually empty platter.

A comfortable silence surrounded the room for a few minutes as the company ate, being joined by both Balin and Gandalf. Calla continued to be busy around the kitchen cooking and cleaning up around herself.

"So" Thorin asked, his voice unchanged from its casual tone, "Tell me, have you packed yet Miss Took?"

Calla was taken back by the question, and stopped her washing up, turning to gape at the six inhabitants of her cousin's pantry. "I'm sorry, my lord, I do not understand what you mean?"

Gandalf chuckled, as he lit his pipe, "For the journey, young Miss Took, are you packed ready for our journey?" Calla dropped the metal tray she had been previously washing up as she caught on to what they were asking her.

"I had no idea you were intending for me to join you?" Calla stuttered as she hastily picked up the tray, sliding it into the sink full of soapy water.

"It was not what was originally decided." Thorin explained, as he watched her carefully, his eyes almost piercing through her soul, "It is a task far too dangerous for women. There will be no comforts, and exposure to danger. But Gandalf informed me you would be a valuable member of our company. I am still wary, but I trust him, and he has vouched for your responsibility. So on his head be it." Finished the dwarf king, as he pushed back his chair and stood up, leaving the room without a word.

Calla continued to stare into space, completely stunned. She was invited to go on an adventure! An actual adventure, just like her father had.

"Well, you had better go and pack young Took." Gandalf reminded with a large grin as he observed her pretty face lighting up in excitement.

"Thank you!" She cried happily as she removed the white apron, dropping it hastily on a counter, "Thank you all so much!" And with that she fled from the hobbit hole to her own to pack, before the great leader could change his mind.

Fili looked at his younger brother with his eyebrows raised, "She took that rather well."

An hour and a half later, the company of dwarves and Gandalf sat atop their ponies, ready to head off on their quest. Bets were being placed between them as to whether the burglar Baggins would change his mind, Calla hoped against hope that he would, having packed a spare handkerchief and pipe, the things her cousin would always forget when they were going anywhere.

The female hobbit looked warily at the ponies, they were all far too big for her to control on her own, which panicked her some. She shuffled her bare feet slightly unsure as to what to do, she wouldn't be able to keep up with them on foot, even though she was faster than most hobbits in The Shire.

Thorin watched her pondering from the front of the troupe, his mouth set into a firm line, 'These hobbits may turn out to be more trouble than their worth' he thought to himself, before sighing and commanding "Kili, Fili Miss Took is in your care."

The brothers nodded, obeying the order from their uncle.

Kili leaned down from the side of his pony, one hand held out to help her up. She accepted, sliding into a spot in front of the young prince, who controlled the reigns around her sides, keeping her steady.

"We can linger no longer. Let us away." Called Thorin, as he nudged his pony in to life, the other dwarves following suit.

Calla caught her breath as the pony moved beneath her, suddenly feeling unsafe, when Kili's soft voice murmured in her ear, "It's ok, you're not going anywhere, I've got you."

The group had only managed to get a mile or so away from Hobbiton when a heavy panting was heard, along with the scurrying of feet. "Hold on!" shouted Bilbo Baggins as he drew up beside the ponies. "I've signed it." The hobbit said, thrusting the signed scroll at Thorin, who signalled Dwalin to bring Bilbo the smallest pack pony they had. "Very well master burglar, hurry, time is pressing on."

Bilbo clambered onto the steed with some difficulty, and the procession started again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! still loving the apreciation, its nice! off go our little band of adventurers! I hope you enjoyed another chapter! please keep commentine etc. it keeps me going! :)
> 
> Happy reading.


	6. A rest among the rocks pt. 1

The company had been riding for what seemed like hours, across open green plains in the baking sun, but Calla failed to notice this as she giggled, listening to the stories the young princes were telling her.

"And then this idiot ..." laughed Fili gesturing towards his brother with one hand while keeping his other tightly braced on his pony's reigns "decides that now would be the best time to slide down the grand stairs on an upturned shield, not realising Thorin was holding council with some dwarves from the west in the hall below. He slid through their group, screaming from the top of his lungs all the way. He only stopped when he collided with the wall. I thought Thorin was going to kill him, he was so angry."

Calla roared with laughter, a mental image of a fully grown Kili sliding down some stairs, and being dragged away by the collar by a furious Thorin. She looked over her shoulder at the dark haired prince who was smiling fondly at the memory, his skin coated with a sheen of sweat from the unbearable heat. "How long ago was that? You must have been young."

"I was young, very young." he said, immediately being cut off by his brother who was eager to set the record straight, "What nonsense, you were forty three, it was your birthday near days before."

Calla wrinkled her eyebrows, realising she had no idea what age the two men beside her were. "And how old are you now? If you don't mind me asking?" She did not want to offend Kili, but she was curious.

He chuckled quietly and grabbed a rag from his over coat pocket, wiping the sweat away from his forehead quickly before answering, Calla gripped on tighter to the saddle feeling less than secure now that only one of his arms was holding her in her place. "I am sixty three, my last birthday was a month past." Her eyebrows rose dramatically into her hair line as she studied his handsome features. "What?" He asked self consciously as he felt her big dark eyes studying him.

"You both look so young for your ages. Hobbits, even at seventy can start to look, well, a bit worn around the edges. But you both look so … youthful." she exclaimed stuck for a better word. The brothers burst out in to laughter.

"Is that so?" Kili asked a grin plastered across his face, "And how old are you then, Miss Took?"

Calla shot him a mock horrified look, "Well … for royalty, you know little of chivalry, you never ask a lady her age." she scolded trying to keep a straight face, "But if you must know, I'm fifty one."

"Ah, not as young as we thought, maybe we should call you 'Old Miss Took.'" Joked Fili, who veered his pony to the left, to get away from the arm Calla had thrown out to slap his shoulder. The accidental force behind her gesture made her slip slightly in the saddle, her small body nearly tumbling from the horse. Kili quickly wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pulling her back into the seat, and holding her against his chest. "Thats enough of that, don't want you falling off, now do we?" he spoke quietly, the words making his chest rumble slightly against her back.

A cold nights chill was beginning to set in the air as the fifteen companions came to a sheltered rocky outcrop. Thorin halted his pony both listening and looking around to make sure the area was safe before calling loudly enough for all to hear, "We shall stop and rest here for the night."

The dwarves chattered happily amongst themselves at the declaration, glad to have some time to rest and cool down after the blazing heat of the day. After tying the ponies to a near by fallen tree, they settled themselves around the rocks, some taking the opportunity to sleep and some just enjoying being off of their pony's back. Calla sat beside the fire, her hands busily sewing a patch onto the elbow of one of Bilbo's spare coats he had brought. She tuned out the laughing and singing voices around her, concentrating solely on the silver thread she was weaving through the old fabric. The coat in question had belonged to her father Henna Took years ago, and had been given to Bilbo when he grew enough to fit it. The buttons were odd from years of repairs and the hem was freying but she understood why Bilbo kept it, it was something that reminded him of a once brave hobbit, who had set out on adventures wearing that very coat. She smiled to herself as she remembered her mother's words every time Henna had slipped it onto his shoulders, "Not that moth eaten thing again … I should have used it as a dish towel years ago." no matter how many times she had uttered those words, Calla's mother had never turned it in to a dish cloth, but had given it to her only nephew, telling him that one day he'd need it when he had his own adventures.

She finished the stitching and held it up to the fire light, admiring her handiwork, before passing it back to Bilbo, "Here you are, one day I shall teach you how to sew, and then I wouldn't need to be your personal seamstress." she lectured him, as he folded the newly fixed coat, tucking it back into his leather satchel before giving her a quick one armed hug. She was about to put her sewing kit away when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder. She turned coming face to face with Bifur, who was holding a pair of hole ridden socks up to her. He made a gesture towards them, a muted moan coming from the old warrior's lips. She smiled kindly at him, knowing what he was asking her, even through his inability to communicate. "Of course Bifur, I will have them done for you in a few moments." she said as she bit through another length of thread, feeding it through they eye of her needle. The old dwarf bowed to her in gratitude and retreated to his former seat beside his cousins Bofur and Bombur. She quickly resumed sewing, making sure she didn't leave any gaps in the heavy fabric.

"You know, you could make a pretty penny on this journey with that skill of yours." a soft voice said from behind her.

"You think so?" she asked Kili, a hint of humour lacing her lowered voice.

"Of course, who knows how months with fourteen men who couldn't even sew on a button if they were forced to. There may be be many a thing that needs your sewing skill before we reach the end." the tail of his sentence was marred by a yawn, but Calla understood him perfectly well. "Who taught you to sew so delicately? You hold that needle as if it will splinter beneath your fingers any second." She smiled as she tied the last knot off, sliding her hands inside the socks to examine them. "My mother." she said, taking the socks back to Bifur and displaying her handiwork to him. He bowed to her graciously once again, popping them on to his now bare feet.

She made her way back to the fire, packing up tiny sewing box, and tucking it back within the folds of her bag, before retreating to the shaddows to sit beside Kili, who had removed his coat, laying it behind his head as a cushion, and a quietly snoring Fili, whose moustache braids swayed with every in take of breath. "When my father would take my brothers and Bilbo out fishing in Bree, my mother would sit me down and teach me the skills of the home, cooking, cleaning, reading." she whispered, not wanting to wake the elder Oakenshield brother, "it used to be our Sunday afternoons together. But sometimes I used to beg her to let me go to fishing too, she would give in, but tell me that it was not the way a young girl should behave. I've always thought there was more to life than behaving the way the folk of the Shire expected of me." She drew her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them in an attempt to keep away the cold that was seeping over her. Kili saw her actions and automatically removed his leather overcoat from behind his head, draping it around her shoulders, it was to far too big for her, but it served as a good wind barrier. "Thank you." she whispered as she buried her face into the collar, feeling its soft, fur lining against her skin.

"and now here I am" she continued, looking out over the darkened horizon, "sat on a rock in the middle of no where with a band of dwarves, a wizard and Bilbo, starting my own adventure. I know my Granny Brandybuck, would have turned pale as the moon at the notion of it." Kili chuckled, his eyes surveying the area around them, as a comfortable silence descended.

Not ten minutes later however, Calla's blood ran cold as a loud howl sounded through the air, waking every Dwarf with a start. "Uh, what, uh, what was that?" Bilbo asked nervously as he turned away from Myrtle his pony, the half eaten apple he was secretly feeding her still held in the palm of his hand.

"The call of a Warg." Kili said, his keen eyes looking around the land scape for any sign of enemies. "Wargs?" Calla asked, swallowing heavily, she had heard of these fierce creatures before, massive rabid wolves ridden by blood thirsty orcs.

"Oh yes. The low lands are crawling with them." Fili answered any hit of sleep gone from both his face and voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I went to see The hobbit again today, I managed to convince a friend wjho was dead set against the idea to come with me, and huzzah! she came home gushing over Kili. It has, as expected, boosted my creativity so, i might try and get 'A rest among the Rocks ... Part 2 ...' out at some point in the early hours, but i can't promise anything!
> 
> A big thank you for all the love once again! please continue to let me know what you think or any suggestions. I like to hear from you all!
> 
> Have a Jolly Hobbity day/night! and happy reading!


	7. Darkened Apologies

"They always attack at night. Its easier you see, for them to sneak in to a camp and devour all who lay within it." Kili started, his deep brown eyes regarding Calla with a weight of seriousness. "They crave the taste of flesh you see. They lay in wait to pounce on tasty morsels like you."

A moment of silenced passed between the pair of them, Calla felt her skin begin to break out into a cold sweat, and she swallowed audibly, pulling Kili's coat closer for protection. A hot blush of embarrassment washed over her entire body as the dwarf princes dissolved into laughter, leaning on each other for support. Tears stung at the back of the young woman's eyes at the taunts, she was wary of a foe she had never even heard of, and they were mocking her for being so, the jibes cut deep into her heart.

"You think that's funny do you?" growled Thorin, as he rounded on his nephews. "You think its funny, the notion of being butchered by wargs and orcs? You think its funny to torment someone who has never experienced such devastation and bloodshed? When you have hardly stepped foot out of my halls yourself? You know nothing of the world." The dwarf king turned his back on Kili and Fili, who hung their heads ashamed, guilty looks plastered on their faces.

Kili reached out to squeeze Calla's shoulder as he opened his mouth to apologise, but she tore away from his grasp violently, dropping his coat onto the ground as she walked away to sit with her cousin, her shoulders hunched over sadly and her bare feet dangling over the rocky ledge.

"Don't worry about him lad" Balin smiled kindly down at the dark haired dwarf, "Thorin Oakenshield has more cause than most to hate Wargs."

"What happened?" asked Calla's muffled voice, clearly still listening to what was going on, even if she didn't want to face her companions. "It was when a legion of Orcs attacked and devastated our stronghold of Moria. We fought bravely all hours that the day provided, fought beside our King, Thorin's father. The battlefield was stained with blood and both sides were running thin, until he arrived. Arzog, the pale orc. A brute standing higher than the tallest of men, and thicker too, stride a massive white warg."

Calla's eyes widened at the description, gripping the comforting hand Bilbo had offered her so hard his digits had started to take on a blueish hue. Bilbo knew that she was fascinated and wanted to learn more, but her spirit was dampened by the joke the Oakenshields had inflicted on her. "Hey" He whispered to the red head, her soft features still focused on the darkened plains around them, "Look at me." Calla obeyed her cousin's wish, her pretty face turned towards him. He pursed his lips at the sight, but remained silent, using his thumb to wipe away the streaks of tears that had stained her normally rosy cheeks. "They meant no harm." the young woman sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes.

"The pale orc vowed to wipe out the line of Durin ... he started by removing the king's head. Ravaged by grief Thorin fought the beast, using only a broken branch as a shield. He wounded the Arzog and sent him fleeing back to the hole he came from. It was new lease of life for our troupes, and we came out victorious, but we had no cause for celebration, for our number of slain matched that of the enemy. And that's when we saw him, a blood stained prince, reclaiming a city and bringing his people together. That was when we knew we would follow him to the end, and we had found someone we were proud to call our King." Finished Balin, The entire camp was silent, watching the back of their king who stood, looking broodingly out onto the horizon.

"Come now, all of you, it is time for rest." Thorin murmured as he turned back to his company, a far away look held in his murky blue eyes. He went to return to his original resting spot, when Calla stopped him, gently laying a dainty hand on the rough metal of his armoured wrist. He regarded her soundlessly, his eyes searching her face for her reason for stopping him. "Thank you." She whispered, as she placed a kiss on the great leader's cheek, before going back to where the Oakenshield brothers sat in stunned silence. Without looking at either of them she gathered up her bags and walked away to make up her temporary bed between Bofur and Bilbo.

The chatter of morning birds had just begun to sing in the trees, and the sun was preparing to rise when Calla awoke. The dwarves, hobbit and wizard around her all still deeply enveloped in sleep.

She carefully stepped over her cousin, and made down a slight slope to a pool of fresh water just below the rocky out crop that had occupied for the night. She did not see the younger of the Dwarf princes sat against a tree on watch, his body disguised in the shadow of the leaves.

The water was cool and refreshing on Calla's skin as she splashed handfuls onto her face, trying to rid her eyes of any sleep and cleanse her skin. Her reflection looked back at her as she stared into the mirrored liquid, she looked tired and like she needed a good bath, her natural ringlets a little heavier with dirt and deep black bags lining the skin below her dark eyes. A reflection of a figure appeared behind her in the water, their face hidden in darkness, but their body outlined with the rising sun. "Kili?" She asked the reflection, but when she turned around he was gone.

"Kili? I know you're here." She scolded, standing and folding her arms over her chest, looking around her for the hidden prince.

"You are angry with me still." Came his soft voice from the darkness surrounding a sheltered set of rocks. He had made no move to show himself, but his voice was enough for Calla to identify his hiding spot. "Yes, I am. It was wrong of you and Fili to mock me so. I am a strong girl, but I know not what lies ahead of us. I have every right to be afraid of every foreign sound." she said as she stopped at the rocks, taking in the sight before her. Kili was sat, balanced on a flat rock, one leg folded beneath him the other hanging limply down the rock face, his head was hanging limply. "I will become accustomed to the dangers in time, but right now I'm just getting started, I thought I had a pair of protectors in you and Fili, but all you did was make me feel like a helpless child, who had been betrayed by the people who had promised to protect her."

He looked up at her then, and she drew in a sharp breath seeing the painful look of hurt in his deep brown eyes. "We still promise to protect you." He paused a second before softly uttering "I promise to protect you, we are sorry for causing you to hurt, I did not know it would effect you so"

Calla chuckled as she hopped up onto the rock beside the dwarf, laying her head softly on his shoulder, both of them watching the sunrise over the distant mountains "you are forgiven. But I wont go so easy on you next time." She mumbled, making a chuckle escape Kili's throat.

"There will not be a next time, I promise you."

"Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you." berated Bilbo as Calla and Kili made their appearance back into the very lively camp of dwarves who were scuttling about doing various activities. "Relax Bilbo, I went down to the water below, I did not decide to venture anywhere beyond the sight of the group." She reassured him with a small smile, squeezing his hand and placing a kiss on his cheek.

Kili left her side to join Fili and Thorin, whose eyes had not left the pair since they had reappeared on the ledge.

"Well?" Fili asked as he handed his brother a large bowl of grey looking porridge, "She forgives us." He mumbled spooning some of the breakfast into his mouth, trying not to drop it down the front of his blue tunic.

"Why did you follow her? She could have headed straight for danger." Thorin growled, but his eyes were soft, showing he was merely trying to come across as being tough on his youngest nephew.

"All the more reason to have followed her don't you think uncle?" Kili challenged, knowing he had been in the right.

"Indeed, at least she has forgiven you. I would not favour a journey with her angry words, and you repeating your apologies every time." The king said as he dropped the empty bowl beside his feet.

"Actually, I think she went easy on you, considering the outburst she had in the hobbit hole." Bofur grinned at the prince as he collected the empty bowls. "A fire cracker that one, with the temper to match her hair."

The three heirs of Durin watched the young female hobbit mill around the camp, being Followed by an angry Bilbo, who was still reprimanding her for her earlier disappearing act. His comments appeared to be falling on deaf ears, until she stopped dead still, causing Bilbo to collide in to her back, choking on his comment of "And another thing ..." She raised and eyebrow, and placed a hand on her cousin's chest, lightly pushing him away from her. "Bilbo, If you are going to continue to nag at me, kindly bugger off would you." She said sweetly, her face feigning innocence.

The whole camp, including the brothers and their uncle roared with laughter at the surprise on the male hobbit's face.

"And an equally as heated tongue." laughed Fili, as Bilbo backed off, leaving Calla alone to pack up her belongings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my darling readers! Once agin a big shout of thanks to everyone who reviewed and followed etc, fantastic support, keep it up, it makes me happy and I wont have to unleash my pet trolls.
> 
> I was thinking, after christmas, as this will most likely be my last update until then, I might start writing a Thorin story as well (not linked of course) any thoughts on that?


	8. Lessons in losing ponies

"Who would you prefer to ride with this morning then Miss Took?" Fili asked her, as he threw her a cheeky wink, mounting his pony. Kili, who sat atop his horse beside his brother rolled his eyes at him, secretly hoping the young hobbit would choose his company for their day of riding.

Calla pursed her lips in thought and looked between the two brothers, who were both staring at her eagerly. "Well," she reasoned after a moment of thought, "Your poor pony had to carry us both yesterday Kili, so I shall afford her a break and ride with Fili."

Kili opened his mouth to protest, but promptly closed it again when Calla took Fili's outstretched hand, sliding herself into the saddle. "Do not fear little brother, she is safe with me." Fili mocked, as he nudged his pony spurring the animal forward to join the now moving company of dwarves. A guttural grunt of annoyance left Kili's throat as he fell into line behind his brothers horse.

"So … tell me a bit more about you." asked Fili, as the company moved down another winding stone path. Calla raised and eyebrow and looked at him over her shoulder, "What would you like to know exactly?"

"Oh anything! Anything you wish to tell me?" he asked conversationally, "I like to know the people I travel with well."

"Well why don't you ask me a question? And then I shall ask you one, then all is fair." Calla offered, she was as curious about the home life of the dwarf princes as they were of hers. Fili broke out into a chorus of throaty chuckles, loud enough to catch the attention of Bifur and Dori who were riding just in front of them, "Very well Miss Took, I am willing to play your game. What is your favourite colour?" Calla scrunched her face up at the simple question, but decided not to argue, he was probably just warming up.

"That's easy, green. My favourite colour is mint green. Same question to you."

"a deep blue, the colour of my tunic. The line of Durin wear blue as their royal colours, so we learn to like it more than most colours." he pulled his long, fur lined coat aside and tapped lightly at the blue silk of his tunic, almost identical to the one his brother wore. "You have spoken of your brothers, are you older or younger?"

Call laughed remembering each of her brothers, "I am the youngest, and the only girl. Amaranth is the eldest, he works as a carpenter just outside of Bree, Briar was a musician and an artist, unfortunately he fell victim to an accident several years ago." She sniffed, holding back tears at the memory of her middle brother, "he drowned in a lake to the far east of the shire, and then there's Sorrel, he's the youngest of the three, a mere four years older than myself, he is studying medicine with the elves to the west." she smiled proudly at her youngest brother's achievements, she missed them all terribly. "Have you always been so close with Kili?"

The questions between the two continued long into the ride, until the chill of evening started to set in, and they came across a wooded area, with the remains of a burnt down farm house. The company stopped their ponies, and began to dismount, ready to make camp.

Calla turned sideways in her saddle to jump down from Fili's horse, when a large gauntlet covered hand reached up to take her petite one, helping her descend from the animal. She smiled sweetly at Kili, thanking him for his chivalrous gesture. "Thank you Kili." she said as she set foot on the ground.

"Did you ride well?" asked the dark haired prince, eager to catch up with her after her day of exclusively talking to his brother. "Oh, very well. Your brother has quite the funny bone in him." She giggled as the made their way to the rest of the dwarves who had already crowded around and begun to light a fire to both cook and stave off the night's inevitable chill. "That he does." the prince said as he flopped down onto the ground beside Ori, nearly frightening the life out of the young dwarf.

Thorin and Gandalf were conversing quietly between them, but the air carried their voices over to the curious Calla, who was watching them, her big brown eyes studying their heated movements.

"It is not safe Thorin."

"I said we camp here!"

"Oh, save me the stubbornness of dwarves!" huffed the old wizard as he pushed past the king, and stalked through the now settled group.

"Gandalf? Where are you going?" asked Bilbo, who had plonked himself down beside his cousin.

"To seek the council of the only person around here with any sense master Bilbo."

"And who's that?" questioned the young hobbit, a disgruntled look upon his face.

"Myself!" shouted back the old man as he disappeared through an intersection of rocks.

"Do you suppose he will come back?" Bilbo asked his cousin nervously, seeing that she too was watching the wizard leave. "Oh, I hope so Bilbo, I hope so." She breathed, braiding her long hair into a loose plait and tying the end with a thick mint green ribbon.

"Of course he will!" Called Bofur jovially, trying his hardest to calm the two hobbits. "He's a wizard, they disappear all the time!"

Calla couldn't help but smile at Bofur's lopsided grin and cheery words, but Bilbo remained stony faced.

"Kili, Fili" boomed Thorin's deep voice as he came up behind Calla, making her jump out of her skin, his eyes set on his nephews. "You are to watch the ponies." his voice was laced with anger, making his nephews instantly obey him, grabbing their coats and each kissing the back of Calla's hand in a gentlemanly fashion before entering the throng of trees the ponies were secured in. Kili turned to look back at Calla before entering the tree line, a warm blush flooded her cheeks as she raised her tiny hand and wiggled her fingers in a wave, and he mirrored her action.

Thorin watched the interaction with a tiny smile threatening to sneak onto his lips, before grumbling loudly "Come on Bombur, we're hungry"

****

The night had deepened swathing the entire forest in an inky blackness, the only sources of light coming from the bright, silver moon and the burning red of the fire. The dwarves milled about the flame, Bombur stirring a great pot of broth, Bofur stood beside him ladling it into dishes and distributing it between the ravenous dwarves who were talking and sleeping.

"He's been gone an awfully long time." Worried Bilbo as he continued to pace up and down.

"He'll be back, stop your fretting." called Bofur as he filled up two bowls of broth, handing them to the jumpy hobbit, "Here take these to the lads." he pointed his elbow in the direction of the trees Kili and Fili were residing in, looking out for the ponies. Bilbo nodded defiantly, but his hands still shook with worry, the hot liquid sloshing over the sides, earning a deep sigh and a stern look from Thorin who was eyeing the display with disapproval.

Calla frowned, instantly feeling sorry for her cousin. "Give him a break, he's just worried. We can't all be hardened warriors like you." She directed at the dwarf king who just turned away, dismissing her reprimand, which made her blood boil in her veins. She was about to advance on the dark haired leader, to give him a piece of her mind, when Bilbo shot her a pleading look, stopping her in her tracks. "Here Bilbo, let me take one of those." she said instead, relieving him of one of his charges and following him into the darkness of the woods.

The two hobbits trod lightly over the twig covered ground, trying not to sneak up on the two dwarf princes who had their backs to them, both men stood completely stock still, staring straight ahead of them. Calla and Bilbo exchanged a look, a little wierded out by the brothers strange behaviour.

"What's the matter?" Bilbo asked as he came to stand beside Fili, looking from one brother to the other.

"We're supposed to be looking after the ponies." stated Kili, his voice tight with thinly veiled panic.

"Uh yeah, so?" questioned Calla as she popped up between the two princes.

"Only, we've encountered a slight problem. We had sixteen … and now there's … fourteen" finished Fili.

"You lost two ponies? How the bloody hell have you managed that?" Calla scolded, slapping both Oakenshields lightly on the chest with her free hand.

"we don't know really know." moaned Fili as he started to fidget.

"Ok! Lets see who's missing" reasoned Calla shoving her bowl of broth at Bilbo and taking Kili's hand in hers, pulling him along to inspect the ponies. Kili smiled, his face heating up as he felt her small fingers wrap around his, the digits unconsciously interlacing.

"Daisy and Bungle are missing" the younger prince mused as they met back up with Fili and Bilbo in the centre of the clearing.

"That is not good. That is not good at all." fretted Bilbo, following after the pair, who were still holding hands. "Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

"Uh no, best not to worry him." Fili said as he surveyed the trio, his eyebrow raising as he clocked his brother holding Calla's hand, he made a mental note to tease his sibling for it later, when they were in less of a sticky situation. "Actually we thought as our official burglar you could look into it ..."

Bilbo gaped at the blond dwarf like he had just grown two more heads, and stuttered loudly "W...Well it looks like something b...big and quite d...dangerous"

"Yes, that was our thinking" answered Fili as he moved through the clearing inspecting the damage to the vegetation as he went. Kili went to follow after his brother, but stopped, feeling a gentle tug. His dark eyes widened as he realised he and Calla were still holding hands. "Uh … Uh … Sorry," he offered, as he pulled away to go after his brother, both embarrassed and his tummy full of butterflies. Calla looked at the ground, suddenly glad the woodland was too dark to notice the deep scarlet hue that was now tinting her pretty face.

"Look! Over there! There's a light!" hissed Fili, as he slunk across the woodland floor, crouching behind a fallen tree trunk. Kili, Calla and Bilbo hastily joined him, their eyes glued to the red light coming from behind the trees. They paused for a minute, watching hulking shadows move across the light, before both hobbits piped up together, "So, what is it?"

"Trolls" muttered Kili, who quickly jumped over the fallen trunk and rushed closer to the light, his brother following. Calla followed suit, hopping over the tree and running after dwarves, only stopping to nag at Bilbo who had gone back for the bowls he had accidentally left on the fallen tree. Just before the hobbits could reach the safety of darkness the lumbering form of a troll made its way past them. Bilbo instinctively dropped to the floor to avoid being seen, and just as Calla was about to do the same she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, pulling her towards the tree.

She gave a nervous squeak and struggled against the arm, until her back was pressed into a tree trunk, and the owner of the arm clamped a metal clad hand over her mouth. A stray shaft of light passed over her captors face, and Calla sighed, seeing the handsome features and dark eyes of Kili's face mere inches from hers. His breath ruffled a few loose strands of her hair as he raised a finger to his lips, telling her to hush. She nodded, and bunched her hands into the leather of his coat, keeping his body pressed against hers and out of the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All! I trust you all had a lovely christmas! and here is my gift to you ... a new, long chapter with the starting hints of a romance! i hope you all like it! as usual please favourite and review! it makes me cheery!
> 
> big love to you all!


	9. The trouble with trolls

Kili felt his cheeks inflaming when Calla pulled his body into hers, her tiny hands gripping the leather of his coat, keeping his chest pressed up against hers. All common sense fled him in that instance, only allowing him to raise his finger to his mouth in a hushing motion and stare into the soulful pools of brown that were her eyes. After what seemed like forever, to Kili at least, he managed to tear his attention away from her face, his eyes scanning their surroundings keenly, making sure their path was now safe and troll free.

"All clear" hissed Fili as he stepped out of the tree's shadow he had been hiding in, but still keeping his body low to the ground in case the troll returned to the pathway.

Kili heard his brother's words, but they washed completely over him, for he had made the mistake of looking back at the small girl who was pinned to the tree trunk beneath him. A coy smile appeared on her rose bud lips and she relinquished one hand from his coat, using it to shyly push an escaped curl behind her ear, and looked up at him through her impossibly thick lashes, "Thank you" she breathed, the words only loud enough to reach the young prince's ear.

"My … uh … My pleasure." he whispered in return, the proximity of their faces causing him to stumble on his words.

"Oh no! They've got Myrtle and Minty!" cried Bilbo, breaking up Calla and Kili's moment. The dark haired dwarf took Calla's hand and lead her to tree his brother and Bilbo were hiding against, their eyes peering through a small break in the line of bushes.

Through the gap they could see the three ugly, hulking trolls, arguing between themselves around a huge fire, in which sat a massive black pan, almost like a witch's cauldron. Behind them, making frantic neighs and battling to break free, were the four missing ponies, their eyes wide with fear as struggled against their holding pen. Calla felt anger boil up inside her chest as well as a small pang of sadness for Bilbo, she knew he had become quite attached to Myrtle, and that seeing her held captive must have hurt her cousin greatly.

"I think they're going to eat them! We've got to do something!" Bilbo said, his eyes searching the faces of Calla and the dwarf princes.

"Yes, you should!" Kili answered quickly, his voice feigning innocence, as he quickly leapt to his feet, pushing Bilbo past him and further into the clearing "You are so small, and trolls are so big and stupid, you'll slip right past them!" he said quickly, completely ignoring Bilbo's repeated answer of "No!",

"It's perfectly safe, we'll be right behind you." he continued, being eagerly cut off by his older brother, "Yes, if you get in trouble hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a screech owl." ushered Fili as the hobbit nervously crept closer to the trolls repeating the elder dwarf's instruction to himself. He turned back to face the brothers, a worried expression plastered across his face, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yes! We'll be right behind you, now go!" said Fili, waving his hand at Bilbo, who took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, before pushing through the undergrowth and out of sight.

"Come on!" Fili said to Kili as they started to make their way back to camp, leaving Bilbo behind. Calla stood her ground, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyebrows furrowed in anger at the brothers' behaviour. "Calla? Come on!" Kili called to her when he realised she had not moved from beside the tree.

"No." she replied shortly, her voice betraying her anger with them. "I am not leaving Bilbo to go out there alone."

"But its dangerous, come back to the camp." Fili tried to reason, his blue eyes pleading with her.

"All the more reason for me to be here. You have your precious kin by your side, away from the danger. Mine is out there! Alone!" she gestured with an arm to the clearing, "And you expect me to sneak away like a snivelling coward? It should be there pair of you in there with him, you lost the bloody ponies! Why does my poor, scared cousin have to fight your battles for you?" She climbed through the gap in the bushes, leaving the siblings staring after her guiltily.

****

"Ow!" squeaked Calla as a few stray branches caught the hem of her velvet cloak, tugging it away from her body, as more tangled in her hair, pulling the ribbon from her already destroyed plait. She pushed her way through the branches, ignoring the small nicks and cuts she received on the bare flesh that was exposed at the neckline of her dress, her face and hands, determined to get to her cousin, as the clearing had gone suspiciously quiet, a pool of worry beginning to form in the pit of her stomach.

A loud sneeze suddenly ripped through the clearing, making Calla jump out of her skin. She hid behind a fallen trunk and watched as the sneezing troll gaped at the object that had appeared in his handkerchief. She fought back the urge to giggle when she saw that the object was, in fact, her cousin, who was covered in sticky troll snot. The troll shrieked and dropped Bilbo to the ground in surprise, who got up as quickly as he could, looking around for a way out.

Calla waved at him, "Bilbo, over here!" she hissed, trying to get him out of the troll's sight and to safety, but she was swept up, by an enormous, clammy hand.

"Awe another one!" mocked the troll who held Calla, holding her close to his face. She struggled against his fist, wriggling around trying to get away. "What are ya then?" Asked another troll, as he pointed the blade of a knife into Bilbo's throat. "Well, go on."

"I'm a burgl-hobbit!" he shouted up at the great beasts, trying to keep one eye on his cousin as she tried pummelling her captor's hand with her own tiny fists.

"A burgl-hobbit? What's that?"

"Can we cook it?"

"We can try ..." yelled the one who sneezed, making a grab for the half-ling who ducked away through his beefy fingers.

"They'd barely make a mouthful. All skin an' bones the pair of 'em."

"Are there any more of ya around these parts?" asked the one holding Calla, his fowl breath blowing her loose curls around her face. She felt the sudden urge to gag at the smell, but pushed it back, answering the troll in a strong voice, that no where near matched how she was feeling. "No! Its just us!"

"I think its lies." another said as the two continued to try and catch Bilbo.

"I think I will eat this one raw, just to get a taste of 'em." said the one who held Calla, his eyes narrowing in glee as he turned her upside down, holding her by her ankles.

Calla gave a loud scream as she was turned upside down, using her hands to pull the skirt of her dress up the best she could to hide her now exposed legs and underwear, her face turning a shade of scarlet, she did not want to die with her knickers on show, she still had her dignity.

"CALLA!" shouted Kili as he burst through the trees brandishing his sword, anger coursing through his veins at the sound of her frightened scream. He rammed the blade into the foot of the closest troll, earning a loud, pained screech from the beast as it toppled over.

"Drop her!" he threatened the one holding Calla. His eyes carefully averted from her bare legs, and staring up into the troll's black eyes.

"You what?" asked the troll in a mocking tone.

"I said" Kili started, swishing his blade up to face the troll "Drop her!" his voice held a strength even he didn't know he possessed.

The troll made a face and threw Calla at him. The young girl screaming as she hurtled through the air, crashing straight into his chest. He placed one hand on her head, keeping her low, using the other to pull her skirts back down properly. "Thank you!" she whispered to him, tears of humiliation pricking at the corners of her eyes. He grinned widely at her, and clasped her cheeks between his hands, placing a quick kiss on her lips before moving her off to the side, and joining the company of dwarves, who had just leapt through the trees above their heads, in battle.

Calla pushed herself back through the dead leaves and mud, until she was leaning against a large rock. She breathed in and out slowly trying to process what had just happened to her, she had nearly been eaten, thrown through the air like a ball, had used Kili as a landing pillow, and Kili had kissed her. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed scarlet as she ran back over the last part in her head, Kili – the dwarf prince – had kissed her. Her brain refused to believe it, she knew that every time she caught him looking at her, her tummy swarmed with butterflies, and every time he hold her a story she just wanted to close her eyes and listen to the silky tone of his voice, but she had no idea he was going to kiss her. 'It was just a really quick peck, and he had just saved me from a troll … who was about to eat me … it was probably just a gut reaction ... he was just glad I was safe ... yeah, that must be it.' She reasoned with herself, as she wiped her now sweaty palms on the blue fabric of her dress.

Before she could realise what was happening she had been snatched up by one of the trolls, again. 'great! That is the last time I get distracted when there's serious danger about' she scolded herself, as the trolls stretched her over the fire, one each holding an arm and a leg, ready to tear her clean in two.

She smiled slightly through her discomfort and struggling when she saw Bilbo's face, proud that he had set the ponies loose. The happy smile quickly disappeared as he took in his cousin's current predicament. A strangled yell came from his throat, as he pointed to the distressed woman. The dwarves quickly caught on and looked in their direction.

"Calla!" cried Kili once again lunging towards the two trolls who held her captive, but he was held back by his brother and uncle, who eyed the creatures warily.

"Lay down your arms!" one of them commanded, pulling slightly on Calla's limbs, bringing a pained gasp from her lips. "Or we'll rip hers off."

Kili squirmed against his brother's grip, desperate to try and rescue her, but a stern glance from Thorin stilled him, as he held his breath in anticipation.

Calla winced at the fury in the great king's eyes, and she suddenly became afraid that he was going to ignore the demand. A wave of relief washed over her as the head dwarf sighed, and slammed his weapon into the ground, earning an angry look from his youngest nephew, who also dropped his sword to the ground in a loud clatter.

One by one the dwarves dropped their weapons, Ori, last but not least, dropping his slingshot down on the ground in a huff. Calla inwardly smiled at the troupe's youngest dwarf, he really did have spirit.

The trolls dropped Calla to the ground, her body landing with a sickening thump, as her elbow bent beneath her. She cried out in pain but ignored it as she shuffled her way over to her cousin on her hands and knees, where Bilbo enveloped her in a protective hug.

The trolls looked at each other with large, sickening grins, when one commanded the other "Tom, grab those sacks!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All! I hope you all had a good christmas? or a nice 25th December if you don't celebrate it. I'm sorry this took so long, I've had a rather hectic week! Thank you all for your continued support. and please, keep it coming, it encourages me to carry on! I also want to thank everyone who took a look at my Thorin story, hopefully I will get to update that in the next few days. I hope you all like!
> 
> happy reading!


	10. Parasites!!

Calla tried her hardest not to gag at the smell coming from the Hessian bag she was trapped in, the scratchy material tied at her throat with a length of string. She lay silently in a pile on the ground surrounded by most of the dwarves, who were in the same position as her – bound and stuffed into old, dirty and smelly bags. Her only comfort was that the dwarfish royalty lay close by, her head resting on Kili's knees, and Fili face down by her feet. Both princes were struggling and shouting loudly at their captors, along with Oin, Gloin, Balin, Bombur, and Nori. Thorin was the only one who remained silent, his brain working over time to find a new plan.

"We don't got time to worry bout the seasonin' we got to get these dwarves cooked before the light comes up. I don't much fancy being turned to stone" grumbled one of the trolls who was turning a giant spit over the fire. The dwarves tied to the giant spit howled with fear every time their bellies came close to the licking flames.

A quiet squeak came from beneath Balin, followed by a timid call of "Calla" as Bilbo wriggled his way to the surface. The female hobbit craned her neck trying to spot her cousin, a comforting smile quickly sliding onto her lips when she saw his worry filled face.

"I'm here Bilbo. Don't worry" she reassured, her voice coming out far calmer than she felt.

"I think, young lady" growled Thorin, his voice barely above a venomous whisper, "We have rather a lot to worry about. If you two hadn't tried to play the 'brave burglars' we would have been safe enough."

"Your ponies were stolen, we were just trying to get them back! Its in the name of our so called 'profession'." Snapped Calla, just about sick of the would be king's cruel jibes and harsh glares. Bilbo looked guiltily at the ground when he heard his cousin bickering with Thorin, he had been the one to follow Kili and Fili's orders, it was his fault she had gotten caught. He wriggled around a little in his sack until he managed to find his footing, standing and shouting at the trolls.

"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake." he shouted, getting the brutish trio's attention.

"You can't reason with them! They're halfwits!" came Dori's normally soft voice from the spit.

"Halfwits?" Shouted Bofur almost indignantly as his moustache dangled dangerously close to the fire "What does that make us?"

"I … I meant with the seasoning!" the half-ling continued, a falsely reassuring smile plastered across his little face.

"What about the seasoning?" asked the troll cook, taking a step closer to Bilbo and the bagged up dwarves.

"Well, have you smelt them?" a whisper of anger flowed through the dwarves at the comment, and a small giggle left Calla's lips, she did have to admit, after a few days of travelling without a bath, and in the blazing heat, none of the company were exactly smelling like roses.

"It'll take a lot more than sage before you plate this lot up!" The rumble of anger got louder with the occasional shout of 'Traitor!' thrown in.

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" shouted the troll turning the spit.

"Shut up! And let the burra-hobbit talk!"

Bilbo smiled at the hulking monsters again, before continuing his cooking lesson, "The secret is to uh … uh ..." he stuttered. Calla bit her lip, hoping against hope her cousin would find something that would not either bring their deaths faster, or annoy the already rowdy dwarves. "The trick is to uh ..." he repeated, his brow creasing in thought, "Is to skin them first!"

Bilbo sounded so pleased with himself for his suggestion, but Calla hung her head as the dwarves now started fully shouting at him, their voices full of threats.

"Tom! Get me filleting knife!" beckoned the chef as he eyed the wriggling pile of dwarves.

"What a load of Rubbish!" interrupted the one turning the spit, "I've eaten plenty with their skins on!" he walked away from the spit, leaving Dwalin and Bofur shrieking in anger as they dodged the flames that were now fast heating up their bellies. The troll yanked Bombur up by the bottom of his bag and dangled him above his open mouth, "Nothing with a bit o' raw dwarf … nice n crunchy!"

The troll was about to bite Bombur's head off when Bilbo squeaked "Not that one! He's infected!"

"You what?" scoffed the troll as he removed Bombur's head from his mouth.

"Yeah he's got worms … in his … tubes! In fact they all have! It's a nasty business. The whole lot of them! Riddled with parasites!"

The roar of indignant denial suddenly filled the area, as the dwarves tried to defend their honour. Calla shook her head, sometimes she thought to herself with a smirk If they just shut up and used their brains, they might actually get out of this alive. She felt Kili's back jolt as Thorin kicked a heavy boot into it, telling his nephew to 'shut up and play along'. Well at least one of them has caught on. She grinned, as the chorus changed from denial to hurried agreements.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm" shouted Oin, amazingly still using his hearing aid.

"Mine are the biggest parasites! I've got huge parasites!" boasted Kili, earning a snigger from both his brother and the female hobbit in his lap.

The troll holding Bombur made a face and threw the portly dwarf back into the pack, winding Fili and Balin, who had served as a cushion.

"What would you 'ave us do then? Let em all go?"

"Well ..."

"I know what you're up to! This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?!" cried Bilbo indignantly

"Lets just get on with this!" moaned the troll cook, as he turned away from the hobbit.

"The dawn will take you all!" rang out the voice of Gandalf as he appeared on a rock face high above them, staff in hand.

"Who's that?" wondered the trolls. "Can we eat him too?"

"We can try!"

But before they got any closer, Gandalf rammed the stem of his staff into the rock, cracking it clean in two and letting the dawn light filter in, instantly turning the trolls to stone. A moment of silence followed the transformation, before cheers started to erupt from the company.

****

I took a while but soon, all fifteen members of Thorin Oakenshield's company were back on their feet and ready to move off again. Calla watched with a smile as Kili leapt onto his older brother's back with a cheer of victory, the pairs laughs lightening the mood considerably. She started to tie her hair back into a plait, but stopped, realising her favourite mint green ribbon had been lost in the foray. She dropped to her hands and knees, fishing through the undergrowth she had been hidden in when she was first caught by the trolls, but no glimmer of green silk caught her eye.

"Are you looking for this?" asked a soft voice, and Calla looked up into Kili's dark eyes. A soft smile spread across her lips as she took the ribbon from his outstretched hand, their fingers grazing gently. A light pink blush flowed across her cheeks at the contact, unsure of what else to say she huskily whispered "Thank you Kili." He nodded to her thanks and paused a minute to look into her eyes, a far away smile playing on his lips. Using one finger, he gently tucked a piece of hair behind her pointy ear. Calla remained quiet throughout the touching moment, unable to concentrate on anything else but the dwarf prince.

"Kili, get a move on!" Shouted his brother with a smirk, he was pleased to have caught the moment, but knew that everyone else was ready, and did not want to incur the wrath of their uncle, which was already raging due to their inability to safely watch the ponies.

Kili flashed Calla one last smile before straightening up and loading up his pony with his belongings. She wandered over to the rest of the group, her flesh raised in goosebumps from the chill of the night air. As she walked past the horse mounted dwarves she was hailed with questions of "Are ye alright Lassie?" from Balin, she nodded at him appreciating the kind smile, as she grabbed her own leather satchel from the ground.

A thumping of hooves and a whinny in her ear announced the arrival of a pony beside her. She looked up at the rider, trying hard not to laugh at the blond prince's serious expression as he leant down and offered a hand up onto his steed, "I think, my lady, you and I have few things to discuss."


	11. The brown wizard

"So, what did you want to ask me?" questioned Calla as she wriggled uncomfortably in the saddle.

The blonde prince looked down at her upturned face, trying his hardest to maintain his serious façade. In the few short days they had been travelling out of the Shire, the young hobbit's confidence had grown considerably, her petite frame barely even flinching when he removed a hand from the bridle to tug thoughtfully at his braided moustache.

"Do you have any witches in your family, Miss Took?" He asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper, desperate to keep the conversation between solely between the pair of them. Calla looked at him indignantly, her thin brows knitting together at the strange question.

"No, why? Have I given you any reason to believe that I do?" she enquired, truly puzzled.

"Yes." he answered shortly, his eyes firmly fixed on the road before them.

Calla clicked her tongue, sick of listening to Fili's inane accusations. "And what is that then? I have turned no one into frogs or poisoned anyone's drinking water, and definitely not had any effect on the weather." she snapped, her lips set into a hard line, as she turned away from her riding companion, her eyes burning holes in the gravelly road beneath their pony's hooves.

"You appear to have bewitched my brother. I have never seen him do something so foolish as to try and attack those trolls alone. You must weave some kind of spell over him." he smirked, knowingly teasing the young girl.

Calla looked back up at the older brother at this comment, her eyes as wide as saucers and her mouth gaping open, as she searched her brain for a reply, but coming up with nothing. Fili chuckled loudly, pleased that he had stumped her.

"Thorin! Up ahead! There's a cave!" Shouted Dwalin who had ridden ahead as a scout, to keep an eye on their path.

"That must be where those bloody Trolls came from!" Shouted Gloin as he brandished his axe in the air

Thorin turned to look at the angry red haired dwarf, an eyebrow raised haughtily. "I doubt there will be any more in wait for us." he called, his deep baritone calming the suddenly riled up company. "But let us advance. There may be supplies we can take."

The company plodded slowly on towards the cave, a comfortable silence surrounding them all, apart from Fili and Calla, who were pointedly ignoring each other.

****

They soon came across the mouth of the troll's cave, the vast entry way cut into the mountain's face. Gingerly Gandalf and Thorin lead the way in to the rock.

"Oh my!" Calla groaned as she stepped over the threshold, the vile smell hit the back of her throat and she fought to control her gag reflex, not wanting to vomit in front of Kili and Fili who were following up behind her. She quickly slammed a hand over her mouth and nose to block out the sickening smell.

"Ye alright lassie?" called Balin from a few paces ahead of her, his elderly face lined with concern.

"Yeah." her words came out muffled from behind the material she had clamped over her face. "That smell! It's nothing like I've ever smelt."

"Well no, I doubt there are many caves full of rotting half eaten flesh in your cosy little Shire." joked Bofur, as he used a heavy booted foot to move a pile of bones from his path.

"Quiet!" reprimanded Thorin, his voice low but authoritative, instantly commanding the attention of the entire company "We know not what we may disturb being here." He tilted his head when he spotted a pair of beautifully made elvish blades stuck into a body leaning against the wall.

Calla watched as Gandalf approached the would be king, offering his knowledge of the abandoned weapons.

"Are you feeling any better now?" asked Kili, as he gently touched the crook of her arm. The simple gesture was meant to only get her attention, but it sent small,unexpected sparks through her body as she looked up into his handsome face.

"Better than I was at least." She reassured him softly, her lips tilting up into a small smile.

"See brother, I told you she'd be fine once she adjusted." smirked Fili as he appeared behind the pair, clamping a hand down hard on his unsuspecting brother's shoulder.

"Adjust? I just want to get out of this putrid smell. I just wish I was back in my garden sniffing my prize roses." grumbled Bilbo as he joined the three of them, his brow drawn together in a harsh frown. Calla smiled kindly at her cousin, wrapping her arm around his shoulder in a comforting hug.

"After a while, you get used to it, it's like Grandpa Took's cabbage soup." she grinned, trying her hardest to lift Bilbo's spirits, even though hers were far from elevated. Bilbo shook his head and started to walk away, muttering to himself

"I never got used to that soup … I used to feed it to the cat." Calla told the brothers, making them burst out in a chorus of chortles at her guilty grin. "and even then I don't think the cat liked it."

"We need to leave this wretched place, there is nothing more for us here." Commanded Thorin as he lead the way out of the cave and back into the fresh air, one of the elvish swords tucked into his belt.

Calla heaved a deep breath as she re-emerged into the open air, glad to be able to inhale the clean air. She was about to follow Kili and Fili further down the hill when she heard Gandalf calling her name.

"Bilbo, Calla" She approached the elderly wizard, his eyes watching the half-lings with a father like smile. "I thought, the pair of you may benefit from a weapon. These lands are vicious and cruel, and you never know when you may be separated from the company." he told them as he handed Bilbo a dagger, big enough to be a sword in Bilbo's tiny grasp, but nothing more than a small knife to a man of Gandalf's size.

"A sword, thank you Gandalf!" Bilbo said excitedly as he drew it from its leather holster, "It is an elvish blade, which means it shall glow blue when Orcs or Goblins are near. I pray you many never need to use it. And if you do, to do so with heart."

"How do you mean?" he asked as he traced the blade's intricate patterning.

"Sometimes, my dear Bilbo, the key to bravery in battle is knowing when to save a life, at to not just take them." Bilbo nodded and scurried off to show the sword to Bofur and Bombur.

"And this"Gandalf said as he smiled down at Calla, a caring twinkle in his blue eyes, "Is for you" he handed her a small ebony bow, with gold tips and emeralds laid into the arrow rest. Her big brown eyes rested on the weapon in awe, her fingers itching to reach out and take it from the old wizard's hand. It was small, as if made for a child, or a young elf warrior. "Well go on, take it, its yours." Gandalf encouraged as he watched her hesitantly struggle with herself.

"But I have no clue how to use it, I would do a weapon like this no justice." she shook her head defiantly, a few stray cherry coloured curls whipping her in the face.

"Well then, it's a good job you have one of the finest archers I know in your company." Gandalf chuckled gesturing towards Kili,who was tightening the string of his own bow a while away from them. "I'm sure young Kili would have no problem teaching you a few basics."

Calla blushed almost as red as her hair, and took the bow from Gandalf's hand quickly to save herself from any further humiliation, hastily turning on her heel, but stopped when she heard the rumble of Gandalf's voice once again. "Just a minute Miss Took, I pass the same advice on to you as I did with Bilbo, when it comes to using it, use it with heart."

Calla nodded soundlessly, placing the bow over her shoulder, and wandering over to the two princes who were admiring her new weapon from afar.

"Now that's beautiful" cooed Fili as he circled Calla, reaching a finger out and running it down the polished wood of the bow.

"Thank you, I thought the travelling was making me look rather worn" She joked as Fili barked out a laugh and backed away to slouch against the tree beside them, waiting for their uncle's next orders.

"It really is a beautiful bow." Complimented Kili as he secured the buckle that held his own bow and quiver around his chest.

"Thank you. Will you teach me how to use it? I really have no clue." She asked, nervously shuffling a bare foot in the fallen leaves that covered the ground, 'Why am I nervous? I shouldn't be nervous! It's just Kili! He's helped me plenty of times' she scolded herself.

"Of course, the next stop we reach, I will teach you to shoot as well as any dwarf archer." The dark haired prince said to her with a big grin.

"Something's coming!" Shouted Thorin as a rustling of bushes beside them started, the pack of dwarves banded together, shoving the two hobbits behind them, their axes, hammers and swords pointed towards the new sound, waiting for their unnamed foe to burst through the trees.

Bilbo grabbed hold of his cousin's hand, keeping her close to him behind the solid wall of Dwarf backs. He brandished his sword bravely in his free hand.

A whirl of grey and brown and a loud series of shouting announced the arrival of Radaghast the brown as he burst through into the clearing holding on tightly to a sled being pulled by a pack of large brown hares.

"Oh Radaghast" Cried Gandalf in relief, striding forward to speak with his old friend. "This is Radaghast the brown!" his voice dropped a few octaves as he spoke only with the brown wizard.

"What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you Gandalf. Something is terribly wrong!" Radaghast squealed, barely giving himself time to breath. He faltered a few times, unsure what to say under Gandalf's stony gaze. "give me, give me just a second … I had a thought and then I lost it! It was right there! … It was on the tip of my tongue you see!" he crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out,making Calla dissolve into giggles, until Bilbo nudged her gently. "Oh no! Looks its not a thought! It was a silly stick insect!" The brown wizard pulled the stick like creature from his tongue and grinned at Gandalf, his eyes scrunched up in mirth.

"A darkness has fallen over the green wood Gandalf, it is sick. Nothing of any good or worth grows there in any more. The worst are the webs."

"Webs?" enquired Gandalf as he sucked on the stem of his pipe.

"Spiders, giant ones. I followed them … they came from Dol Guldor."

"Dol Guldor? But the old fortress is abandoned?"

A dark look crossed the face of the brown wizard, making a shiver run down Calla's spine, "A power dwells inside, dark, darker than any I have felt. It is the shadow of an ancient horror, one that can summon the spirits of evils dead … I saw him Gandalf. From out of the darkness … A necromancer has come."

a low murmur passed through the dwarves at the dark word, and Calla felt herself gripping tighter onto Bilbo's hand, her long fingernails nearly drawing blood.

"I came straight to you Gandalf." The brown wizard tilted his head and peered passed Nori's shoulder at the two hobbits, his face softened as he apologised to Calla, "I'm sorry dear, I did not intend to frighten the lady."

Calla opened her mouth to reply, but was cut of by an agitated Bilbo "No? Well you should use softer words." Calla raised her eyebrows at him, and kicked him lightly in the shin, unhappy that he had spoken for her, when she was perfectly capable of answering for herself.

"A necromancer? Are you sure?" asked Gandalf regaining Radagast's attention, who pulled a cloth covered object from the folds of his robes, handing it to Gandalf, "This" he whispered "Is not from this world of the living."

A loud howl sounded through the air.

"Was that a wolf?" Asked Bilbo as he backed up against a tree, pulling Calla along with him, fear evident in his now wide eyes.

"Wolves? No. That is not a wolf!" Said Bofur as he scanned the clearing through the trees, his normally jovial voice breaking in fear.

Calla's eyes grew round as dinner plates as she watched the huge Warg appear over the edge of the hill behind her, its eyes a bloody red and its jaws dripping with feculant saliva. She swallowed hard and backed away from the creature as calmly as she could as it jumped down from rock to rock, drawing ever closer to her and the dwarves. The beast snarled and lunged towards the female hobbit, making her cry out and stumble backward, nearly losing her balance. Just as it was about to pounce on her tiny frame Thorin jumped onto its back, driving the blade of his axe through its skull.

"Thank you!" she whispered to him as the creature fell dead onto the leaf covered ground. The would be king just nodded, and ripped his axe from the warg's head with a sickening crack.

"Another one!" someone yelled as a second warg appeared through the trees, but was quickly taken care of by a speedy arrow from Kili's bow.

"They are Warg scouts … which means an orc pack is not far behind." Shouted Thorin, as he angrily tossed his axe between his hands.

"Who else did you tell about this quest?" questioned Gandalf an angry tone lacing his deep voice.

"No one, I swear! What in Durin's name is going on?"

Gandalf cast an uneasy look towards the two hobbits, before glaring back at Thorin. "You are being hunted."

"We have to get out of here!" yelled Dwalin, as he cut a few branches to clear the groups path onto the plain below.

"What about the ponies?" cried Ori who had appeared beside Calla, nervously fiddling with his sling shot.

"We will need to leave them." said Fili, as he grabbed his daggers from the tops of his boots.

"Go! I will draw them off!" Cheered Radaghast, eager to help the party escape.

"You will be torn to pieces, you fool!" Gandalf said sternly, turning back to look at his fellow wizard.

"These are Roscobel Rabbits, I would like to see them try and catch me!"

As the shouts and loud thuds of warg paws rang through the air, the group nodded and took off through the clearing as fast as their little legs could carry them.

Calla had never been a strong runner, but her distaste for the activity soon disappeared as she looked over her shoulder seeing the warg mounted orcs hot on their tail. The orcs had been following them for the last ten minutes as the ran across the open land.

A pain shot through Calla's ankle as it twisted painfully, causing her to wail in agony and drop to her knees. Tears started to prick at the corners of her eyes as she watched the orcs coming closer, their eyes full of blood lust. She had been so sure she had wanted an adventure, she really didn't want it to end so soon. Just as the first warg came in biting rage of Calla, she closed her eyes, willing her death to be fast, but the painful bite never came. There was a scuffle and a wet thud as the warg's body hit the ground and a strong arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her from the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I know this was long awaited for! and I hope you all like it. I know nothing huge happens but its a bit of a build up to the next two chapters which are going to be huge and really important! I hope this is better for those who were less keen on the last chapter. I will get the next one out over the next few days! I hope you like it and please continue to review! it makes me happy to know people actually like my writing.
> 
> So yeah ... happy reading! :)


	12. A rest among the rocks pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello My Faithful readers... first off, I know this one is short, but it was necessary to lead in to the next chapter in Rivendell that I will be starting tonight. So it should be up by the early hours of the morning! enjoy! :)

Calla heaved a sigh of relief as she opened her eyes into wavy, dark brown hair and the familiar spicy scent of Kili washed over her. Her small hands clutched tightly at the strap holding his bow across his chest.

"You're ok, I wont let you go." he reassured her breathlessly as he kept up his pace, running to join the rest of the company who had crouched for cover beneath a rocky outcrop, their backs pressed tightly against the stone wall to avoid to being seen. Kili placed her back on her feet, safely sandwiched between himself and Fili, who smirked at her and winked, trying his hardest to ease the young hobbit girl's fears. She stifled a giggle at the blond's playful action but was quickly silenced by a stern look from Thorin.

"Sorry Thorin" She whispered, shrinking back against the grey slab.

"Don't worry about him. We just need to be really quiet and concentrate … any slip up could put us in serious danger." Kili breathed in her ear, bending his head so only she heard his words. He held an armour covered hand out to her, smiling when she accepted, her petite fingers wrapping around his much larger ones.

"I understand … thank you for saving me." she replied in the same hushed tone he had used, giving his hand a tiny squeeze.

"Don't thank me yet …"

"Get back!" barked Thorin, making the group shrink back against the outcrop, trying to make themselves as invisible as they could as a loud 'whoosh' rang through the air, quickly followed by the brown wizard on his rabbit powered sleigh, a pack of warg mounted orcs following hot on his heels.

"Go! Go!" spurred Thorin as he lead his group to the safety of another rocky outcrop. Calla's eyebrows creased as she cast her eyes across the surrounding landscape, it was just an empty stretch of land, with the occasional pile of rocks marring the open ground. Her heart dropped into her stomach like a heavy stone when she quickly realised there was no where in particular they were heading to. Their little hiding places, were just to buy time, their survival relying on the eccentric old wizard and his band of bunnies. But how long would Radagast serve as a good enough distraction? How long could they run before he was taken down by the wargs, allowing the filthy animals to once again trace the scent of dwarf back to their hiding spot.

She felt a small nudging in her side as Bilbo squished himself between Calla and Nori, a stern expression on his face. "I was worried about you, you know!" he scolded her, before his eyes turned soft, noticing that she was holding her weight on her left, uninjured side. "Does it hurt?" he questioned as he grazed his fingers against the swollen flesh of her ankle, making her wince and exhale a pained hiss.

"Of course it does you idiot, now get off." she snapped, as she jerked the offending limb away from him.

"I'm sorry, I've just never seen your ankle that big before." he apologised in a hushed voice. Calla looked down at her own damaged foot, stretching it out before her, rolling it around the joint, little shooting pains spiralled up her calf with every movement.

"Do you think you can walk on it?" her cousin asked her, concern written all over his soft features. Calla groaned as she tentatively pushed her weight onto it. She gasped at the unbearable pain that quickly engulfed her body. Biting her lip she fought to hold back a few tears, determined that she would not weigh the company down because of insignificant injury.

"I can try, it'll be sore but I think it can bear my weight."

"You will not have a choice." Thorin muttered at her, as he readied himself for anything.

She opened her mouth to return an equally as cutting comment, but quickly closed it again as the group heard the thudding of warg paws on the rock surface above them.

Calla gripped hold of her cousin's hand and pushed herself as far back against the rock as she could, trying to blend in with the rough stone. Thorin wordlessly nodded at Kili instructing his youngest nephew to attack before they became the foul creature's prey. The young archer shot Calla an encouraging smile as he strung and arrow, quickly darting onto the open plain. A look of hard determination crossed his handsome face as her released the arrow felling the warg, who crashed to the ground beside them, injured but not quite dead. As quick as a flash Kili loaded another arrow and dispatched the Orc rider who was advancing on him. The evil creature let out a blood curdling shriek as it collapsed, alerting its fellows to the dwarfs' whereabouts.

Calla grimaced as she watched Bifur and Dwalin finish off the felled warg, taking turns in crushing its skull with their heavy war hammers.

"They will have heard that, we need to run" Thorin commanded as the group watched the herd of Orcs appear on the horizon, screeching obscenities and loading their own bows. Kili bent to pick Calla up once again, but she shrugged his hand off with a small smile, "We're going to need that swift hand of yours." The dwarf was about to protest when an orc arrow flew passed their heads, burying itself in a wide crevice in the rock. "A fair point." He confirmed as the pair began to run, Kili lagging behind to give Calla a chance to catch up with the rest.

"This way, you fools!" Shouted Gandalf as he popped up from behind a few rocks. One by one the dwarves and Bilbo threw themselves down the slope into the hidden passage way, leaving just Thorin, Kili, Fili and Calla in the open ground.

"Calla, Fili, Kili come on!" Shouted Thorin, as his eldest nephew threw himself down the hole head first in a flurry of leather and blond braids.

"There's more coming" Kili shouted as he continued to stand his ground and fire arrows, not seeing the warg that was approaching the already wounded hobbit girl from the side.

Calla had no idea she was being stalked by the rabid creature until she could feel and smell its rancid breath on her skin. "Calla!" Cried Thorin and Kili at the same time as they rushed towards the cornered woman, weapons held high, but they were to late as the over sized wolf sunk its teeth into her side, shaking her small body like a rag doll.

A haunting scream left Calla's throat as she felt the creature's sharp teeth embed themselves into her flesh, fresh tears filled her eyes as blood and bile started to bubble up her throat. She could hear the shouts of the dwarf royalty as they charged towards her, but the words remained unclear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pretty much said everything I intended to at the start of this chapter, other than ... please dont hate me for that cliff hanger! a big thank you to all you lovely readers and commenters! it really keeps me going. For all of you who ask when I'm most likely to update, I'm afraid I cant really give you a definitive answer, as i write when i get the time away from my busy schedule.
> 
> please enjoy and the next one will be up sooner, and expect a little fluffy love!
> 
> happy reading! xx


	13. Is a voice enough?

A loud and animalistic bellow sounded from Kili's chest as he watched the warg bite down harder causing Calla to give a choked scream, a stream of blood bubbling up through her rosebud lips, her eyes were wide and glazing over with pain. The young dwarf acted on instinct, ignoring the shouts of the other dwarves from their place hidden in the cavern. He forcefully threw his bow to the ground and ran towards the animal, drawing his sword. In that single moment more emotion passed through his body than he had ever experienced, the painful feeling spurring him on as he drove the sword into the back of the beast's neck. He hacked through fur, muscle and bone, his vision hazed red with anger. He didn't even feel the tears streaming down his cheeks or hear Thorin's warning yell as a orc arrow buried itself deep into his shoulder blade.

He gritted his teeth through the pain, as he pulled the lifeless Calla from the jaws of the now dead warg. Her eyes had rolled back into her head and her breathing was shallow as Kili clutched her to his chest. "Please, please wake up. Please. Please don't leave me." he cried into her thick crimson curls as he pressed a kiss onto her clammy forehead. He only noticed the pain in his shoulder when a second arrow joined its counterpart. The dwarf prince cried in pain and looked up at his uncle and brother who were rushing towards them through tear-logged eyes.

"No! Don't take her away from me!" in his head the words came out as a violent scream, but in reality they were no more than a whisper as he helplessly watched his brother lift Calla carefully into his arms and run back towards the hidden passageway. Kili's body gave way just as his uncle reached him, fighting off a few wargs who had reached the scene. His face hit the cool ground and the overwhelming metallic smell of blood filled his nostrils. He ran his fingers through the red blood stained grass, the blood; it was hers. A burning sensation flooded his throat as he tears increased tenfold, she had lost a lot of blood, maybe too much to save her.

Big strong hands gripped the the collar of his long leather coat, and hoisted him into the arms of his uncle, his head dropped and his body became limp as he drifted out of consciousness.

Thorin Oakenshield protectively held his nephew to his chest like he was nothing but a young-ling. He was heavy, but the exiled king barely noticed the weight as he hurtled across the open plain, deftly jumping over small patches of stones, he was determined to get the boy to safety. His nephews were his everything and he didn't want Kili to lose his life so young, just for a girl. A girl who couldn't defend herself, and would probably be dead within a few hours judging by the state she was in when Fili had carried her back into the cave.

He finally reached the crevice's opening, and protected Kili's head as he slid down the rock, landing beside the other dwarves, who all looked pale and sombre as they bent over the two hobbits. Bilbo was knelt beside his cousin on the ground, massive tears running down his cheeks as he squeezed her hand, his knuckles turning white. Each breath he drew rattled with sobs and sniffs. Gandalf, too was bent over the figure of the young woman, whispering a healing incantation.

A loud horn and the clattering of horses hooves could be heard on the landscape above them.

"Elves" Nori said, his voice thick, as he scaled the rock, peeking over the edge at the battle ground.

"That is all I can do." Gandalf said wearily as he stood back up to his full height, turning his steely blue gaze on Thorin, who's face was set in a mask of betrayal towards the old man.

"You deliberately took us to the elves, When I told you not to?" He hissed, his voice dripping with venom.

"Do you want to lose two members of your company? You are a stubborn fool Thorin Oakenshield, they need urgent medical attention! And the elves can give it. Swallow your hate and let them help you."

Thorin was about to tell Gandalf that they could find help another place when a small voice from floor level reached his ears, the tone full of pleading and sobs.

"Please Thorin, she's all I have." sobbed Bilbo as he openly pleaded with their leader.

"And what about Kili uncle?" asked Fili as he appeared by his uncle's side, tears staining his ruddy cheeks.

Thorin sighed and looked down at the paper white face of his nephew, his heartstrings being pulled with a twang. "Very well. But we stay only as long as they need."

Gandalf nodded in approval at the Dwarf's decision and pointed towards an alleyway in the rocks, "This way."

****

The first thing Kili felt as he was roused from his sleeping state was the burning pain in his back, and the dryness of his throat from screaming. He scrunched his eyes up, not wanting to open them and take in the bright light that was trying to seep its way through his closed eyelids.

"It's really not that bright, you know." came a voice, pushing through his hazy state. The voice was thick with emotion but was easily recognisable as his brother's.

Kili finally forced his eyes open, blinking rapidly as they adjusted to the bright sunlight that flowed into Rivendell's infirmary. He took in the beautifully carved marble ceiling high above him, and relished the warm summer breeze on his bare shoulders.

"Easy for you to say." he choked out, his voice painfully husky from dehydration. On his left, perched in a large wooden chair was Fili, fresh from the elven baths and dressed in a long, white elven tunic with matching trousers. The look was, overall, quite feminine making Kili chuckle to himself quietly. "I had no idea you had taken to dressing as a woman brother. I would have got you some nice pearls for your last birthday." he wheezed quietly, with a weak grin.

"very funny. You should see what they have here for you. You will be the belle of the ball baby brother." chuckled Fili as he held up a pale blue tunic set that matched his own.

Kili stared at the garments horrified, as he tried to sit up in the bed, but was rewarded by a sharp pain engulfing his body. Fili leapt to his feet and helped his brother sit up and get comfortable, before returning to his chair as a tense silence fell between them.

"Water Fili, please." Kili requested quietly, tired of the dull scratching in the back of his throat. The blond adhered to his brother's wishes, filling an intricate wine glass with water and passing it over.

Kili drained the glass as the awkward silence took over again. No one was brave enough to bring up the subject of Calla. A few more minutes passed in silence before Durin's youngest heir could take it no longer, the words practically spilling from his lips.

"Calla … is she ..." he couldn't bring himself to finish the question, his chest was tight with nerves.

Fili sighed heavily and moved from his chair to take a seat on the silk sheets beside Kili's legs, his face was grave and heavily lined. He reached out and grabbed his younger brother's hand, offering his support. "She lost a lot of blood Kili. The warg's tooth punctured a lung and cracked two ribs. The elves have been unable to wake her."

Tears formed in Kili's eyes at the words and a lump caught in his throat. A solitary tear tracked its way down a finely chiselled cheekbone as he sniffed. "Is there nothing they can do?"

Fili squeezed reassuringly on his brothers hand, tears welling in his own eyes as he, himself had become quite attached to the young hobbit girl in their travels. "They say her heart is beating and she is still breathing. So there is hope. They say she's in a deep sleep."

"I want to see her." Kili stated forcefully as he sniffed back his tears, a small puddle of hope beginning to pool in his heart.

"Not until you are strong enough to leave that bed." called a stern voice as both brothers looked towards the open archway of the infirmary.

Kili smiled weakly at his uncle as the large dwarf made his way into the room, taking Fili's seat in the wooden chair. Kili's bow held in one hand. "I believe this belongs to you."

****

"Are you sure you're well enough for this?" Fili asked fretfully as he supported his brother's weight. The two young dwarf princes were stood outside the doors of Calla's infirmary room. Heavy velvet curtains shielded the capsule from any onlookers and kept the afternoon's bright sun at bay.

Kili shook his head, he was unsure. But he knew one thing, he had to see her. He had to make sure she was really there and that her survival wasn't just a dream. "I need to do this Fili." he simply stated as the pair entered the door that had been opened by a tall, willowy elf nurse.

Fili helped his brother to a chair beside the darkened bed, before taking Calla's cold hand in his, placing a kiss on her knuckles. He crossed the room, leaving Kili alone with Calla and the nurse, stopping in the doorway momentarily. "Send word to me when you want to leave, brother." and with a nod of his blond head, he departed.

Kili swallowed harshly and braved looking towards the bed where Calla lay, tucked beneath a set of white silken sheets much like the ones that had been on his own sick bed earlier. She looked so tiny on the huge feather mattress, and her head was nestled between two sets of double pillows, her cherry red curls spread out over them like a halo. Her skin was so white it could have blended in with the soft material that surrounded her body. Even in her motionless state Kili found her breath taking, his eyes lingering on the curve of her button nose and her soft, dusky pink lips. He was unaware that he had been staring at her until the elven nurse addressed him.

"Maybe, my lord, if you are as close as you seem, your voice may help to bring her back to the world."

Kili looked up at the dark haired woman, who was preparing to leave the room, "Do you think so?"

"I have seen it happen before my lord. If a person, even one in as heavy a sleep at Miss Took here, has a connection with someone, just their voice can wake them."

"What do I say?" he asked, suddenly feeling self conscious and sheepish.

"Anything you wish. Some choose to just talk, some sing songs, and some tell stories. The choice is yours. I will be right outside, should you need me." She said with a soft smile and slipped out of a side door leaving Kili alone with Calla.

The young prince sighed as he carefully lifted himself from his seat, hissing as he pushed through the pain in his shoulders. He tentatively laid down beside her on the bed. He lay on his side facing her, with one hand supporting his head, he gently laced the fingers of his spare hand with hers, his thumb running back and forth over her palm in a soothing motion.

He took a minute to study her face, only a few times had they been in such close proximity, their noses almost touching. He thought back to his gallant rescue of her from the trolls, and the hasty kiss he had bestowed upon her. He felt his heart throb painfully in his chest as he found himself yearning to kiss her again. "Uh, the nurse says you may want to hear my voice. I'm not sure you'd want to hear me sing, that would make you want to sleep for longer. A story then." He paused a minute, unlacing his fingers from hers, using them to lovingly feather over her cheek. "I shall tell you the best story I know. One filled with mountains of gold, kings, dragons, and a journey. The ending is yet to be written but I hope it will be a happy one."

He kissed her forehead gently as he wriggled around a bit on the silken sheets, trying to get himself comfortable.

"Many years ago, set deep into the heart of a solitary mountain was the greatest kingdom of dwarves Middle Earth has ever known. It was revered by races from all around, and the royal family that lived within were well known through out the lands of this world. King Thror ruled with an iron grip, safe in the knowledge his line was to be continued on by his son Thrain and grandsons Thorin and Ferrin. The trade of the dwarves within the mountain was mining, filling the lower halls with shining piles of gold and precious jewels, The dwarves were well known for their success and all who dwelled within were proud to be a part of the kingdom known as Erebor ..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually really loved writing this chapter so i hope it pleases you all. it is up before the wee hours as promised! and don't worry I do intend to wake Calla up in the next chapter so as to not stray too far from the story. please let me know what you think!
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> C :) xx


	14. Stories about Heroes

"Lord Thror grew mad with a sickness of the mind, his love of gold had grown so fast. He became cruel, and spent days counting his growing stashes of gold. His people began to lose faith in him, even his own grandson. And then one day a foul curse fell upon the city of Dale, breathing fire and trampling innocent people with its heavy feet and tail. The city soon succumbed to the wroth of the dragon … but this what not what the dragon wanted. You see, dragons crave gold. He barrelled through the door of Erebor, crushing our soldiers without a care, he ransacked homes and burnt down the great hall just to get to the treasury, that was stacked high with gold and jewels. King Thror retrieved the Arkenstone, his most precious possession, but dropped it beneath a wave of gold as the dragon submerged itself in the treasure. Thror howled with devastation and was ready to perish in search of the gem when he was pulled away by his grandson, who helped him and a lot of other citizens of Erebor to safety, risking his own life to save theirs. The young prince gazed up at the horizon where the Elven king, who had pledged allegiance to the line of Durin stood, flanked by a battle ready army. But the elven king did not see the cause to be worth the lives of his men and turned away, condemning the dwarves to a life of wandering the lands and working like slaves to those of other races. The young prince took it upon himself to lead the people, helping them find food and shelter, he worked in labour as a blacksmith to support his exiled people." Kili paused in his story as he watched her eyes flicker beneath their thin lids, as if a dream held her captive. He ran a hand softly down the side of her face, his finger tips gently tracing the contour of her delicate features. Her soft skin created a warm hum beneath his touch.

"But the prince knew he had a calling. He knew he had to take back the land that belonged to him and rightfully claim the crown under the mountain. So he called to all the dwarves throughout middle earth, and the most loyal twelve pledged to follow him through perils unknown and dangers untold, to take back their home within the mountain which had been stolen. As brave as the thirteen were they knew they needed a burglar, someone who could pass through the dragon's halls unnoticed. When the dwarves arrived in the home of their chosen burglar they encountered a beauty, the likes of which the humbled dwarves had never seen. The nephew of the exiled king, a young man yet unfamiliar with the horrors of battle, but loyal to the end, pledged his service to the angel before him. As their journey went on the young prince watched her, his admiration and adoration grew. One evening the beautiful maiden was placed in harms way by a hideous creature, and the young prince leapt from his hiding place, being scolded by all the other dwarves, threatening the trolls in a bold voice. The trolls merely laughed and threw the beauty to him. He caught her, careful to not cause her any pain. When he looked into her deep brown eyes, his world dissolved around him, leaving just himself and the maiden. He was called to join the battle, but couldn't help himself as he captured those petal soft lips with his in a hasty kiss." Kili looked down at her pale pink lips, the flesh looking soft and plump. His throat immediately went dry and he fiddled with a stray cherry red curl. "And ever since he has wanted to feel those lips once more."

Kili swallowed hard, steeling himself for the action he was about to commit. Nerves bubbled up through his belly as he lowered his face to millimetres above Calla's. The scent of her body hit his nose instantly, a mix between green apples and honeysuckle. "Here goes." he whispered to himself as he closed the gap between them, his lips pressing gently into hers. He was about to pull away, when he felt a soft pressure against the flesh of his own lips, and a low moan emanated from Calla's throat. His eyes, which he was unaware had closed themselves, sprang open to look into the dark eyes of the young she-hobbit. He gasped huskily in surprise and tried to sit up, his cheeks flushing a dusky scarlet in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I … uh ..." Kili stuttered, suddenly uneasy with the situation. He attempted to turn his face away, but the cool touch of dainty fingers on his rough jaw line stopped him.

"There is no need to apologise Kili" came Calla's hoarse whisper, as she intently studied his face, her own eyes lighting up at his bashful countenance. The dwarf prince swallowed heavily and allowed her to guide his face back to its original position, hovering above hers, "In fact I would welcome the action if you felt so inclined to do it again." she giggled purposely making her request sound more technical than what she was actually meaning.

"You wish me to kiss you again?" he mumbled, his voice barely audible and his warm breath ghosting over her cheeks. His palms became clammy as he gripped the silken material of the bed sheets beneath his fingers, his other hand rhythmically stroking its path over her cheek.

"Yes" she whispered back as a weak smile played across her lips.

"Then say it … I want to hear it coming from you." he challenged, his voice becoming a husky baritone that could rival his uncle's. A deep red blush stained her pale cheeks and her chocolate eyes widened at this flash of his newly revealed dominant side. Her heart started to thud in her chest and her stomach raged with butterflies.

"kiss me again Kili"

The young prince smiled at her, his eyes watching her from under hooded lids, his tongue quickly swept over his lips, moistening the flesh before he closed the gap between them once again in a heated kiss. The action elicited a soft moan from the young hobbit's throat as she wound her dainty fingers through his dark hair, pulling him ever closer. The couple broke apart long enough to take a gulping breath of air before their lips collided once again in a hasty and passionate kiss.

"Well thank Aule for that! I was beginning to think I was going to have to lock you in a cupboard together." Came Fili's humoured voice from the door, instantly breaking his brother and Calla apart, who both gazed at him with pink cheeks and their faces set into sheepish expressions.

"What do you want Fili?" the younger of the two brothers asked, his teeth gritted in thinly veiled anger, as his dark eyes burned at his sibling. Fili shuffled uncomfortably, but the cocky expression never shifted from his handsome face.

"Well I was going to inform you that we had been called to dine with Lord Elrond. But I could always just eat enough for us both, brother."

Kili frowned at the jibe feeling his stomach rumble and pull in hunger. He looked down at the young woman in his arms, his eyes soft. "Do you mind? I have yet to eat since waking and I am famished. I would come straight back to you." Calla smiled and opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the return of her nurse.

"A word from the one you love can heal even the most wounded of bodies I see." she chuckled as she moved towards the bed, and winked knowingly at Kili as she gripped Calla's wrist, checking her pulse. "I will quickly check her wounds and if she has healed correctly during her sleep she may join you at the Lord's table."

Kili nodded, a boyish smile crossing his handsome features as he leant down placing a soft kiss on her lips in a parting gesture. "I will see you soon my love." he whispered in her ear, before being helped off of the bed and left the room under the support of his elder brother.

****

"Still no meat!" growled Dwalin as he searched through the piles of salad leaves on his plate, his brow set into a low frown.

"Or chips" agreed Ori, his little face set in a sad expression.

"There will be plenty of chips for you when we reclaim Erebor, Ori." reassured Fili with a grin as he helped Kili take a seat, a wince of pain radiating through the action. He plonked himself down beside his brother and began to fill two plates with the huge selection of vegetables.

"What self respecting creature doesn't eat meat! Its ridiculous!" Fumed Dwalin once again as he crossed his arms over his chest in protest.

"Elves are vegetarians for the most part, they feed off the land. Just drink your ale brother and be grateful we have food." scolded Balin as he eyed his brother's actions.

"That tastes like piss water too." The hardened warrior grumbled, but a sharp look from his elder sibling quietened him hastily, taking a large gulp of the amber liquid.

A sudden hush fell over the table, unbeknownst to Kili who had realised exactly how hungry he was and was shovelling food into his mouth in a very undignified manner. Fili frowned at his brother's actions and elbowed him hard in the side, earning a pained yelp from the dark haired prince. "What?" he hissed angrily through a mouthful of lettuce.

"Look" breathed Fili, pointing towards the entry arch of the dining area. Kili followed the line of his brother's stubby finger and felt his stomach clench with the sight before his eyes. His mouth dropped open and a stray piece of lettuce fell back to its original place on his plate.

There, in the doorway, was Calla. Two elves accompanied her as she slowly made her way through the halls. Her small body was encased in a long silver silken gown, with flowing sleeves and diamond detailing. The dress clung to the curves of her small body perfectly, and her cherry red curls housed a smattering of gems to match the encrusting of her dress. Her posture was a little off, and her bare feet tread slowly across the marble flooring, but that was nothing seeing the damage she had sustained but a day before. The sun bounced off of the jewels surrounding her head making her glow like an angel. A giggle bubbled up through her throat at the dumbfounded look of each of the dwarves' faces. Even Thorin was openly gaping at her, his steely blue eyes watching her every move.

"It is wonderful to see you are well enough to join us Miss Took." Gandalf greeted, breaking the silence that hand fallen around the whole room, a twinkle in his aged eye.

Bilbo quickly scampered out of his chair and towards his cousin, taking her dainty hand in his and leading her towards the table, gushing at her in light tones about how beautiful she looked and how happy he was to see her walking around. She just smiled at him comfortingly and squeezed his hand as he pulled out a chair for her in a gentlemanly fashion. She winched and let out a gasp of pain as she sat, but ushered a now concerned Bilbo away, repeating quietly to him in a gentle tone that she was ok.

Calla felt a soft nudge against her calf and glanced up to see Kili grinning at her cheekily from across the table. He stretched his large hand across the table, enveloping her smaller one as the room started to fill with chatter again, The elves playing lilting music and the Dwarves chuckling and conversing with one another.

"You are in love, and it only makes you stronger."

Calla looked up, searching for the source of the lilting voice, but found no elf in ear shot, for the voice was so beautifully melodic, it could have only belonged to an elf.

"Will you follow your love to the ends of this earth?"

The voice asked again, ringing through her mind, but this time Calla could pin point the source. Sat on Lord Elrond's right hand was a beautiful elven queen, with shining blond hair and intense, ice blue eyes. And those blue eyes were staring right at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello You lovely people! Hope you enjoyed this bit, I know it was mean to leave you so long after that chapter, but unfortunately life got in the way. I hope you all like it, and once again I'd like to shout out to everyone who reviews and follows my story! please keep it up, reviews are what help me to write, it gives me the confidence and boost I need to continue on.
> 
> :) Happy Reading everyone!


	15. Gladriel's gift

With a small smile gracing her rosebud lips Calla turned to face the elf witch, fixing the icy blue stare with her own soft brown one.

"I would follow him... them … to the ends of this earth." she whispered back in her mind, giving the thought a little nudge in the direction of the table's head.

"And you would be willing to risk losing your life on a quest that holds nothing for you?"

Calla pursed her lips, as she thought this last question over, it hadn't even crossed her mind that she had grabbed her stuff and fled her hobbit hole with a rowdy tribe of dwarves and had given no thought to the future. What would happen when they reclaimed Erebor? If they reclaimed Erebor. Would she and Bilbo return to their old peaceful lives in the shire like nothing had ever happened? Nothing had suggested anything different.

It was almost as if a void had opened in her stomach as she thought this over, making her brain work over time and her throat go dry.

How had she never thought of what might happen after they reach the dwarf kingdom? She felt incredibly stupid for just following her heart.

A cheery laugh broke through her reverie, as she focused on its source. Kili and Fili were throwing pieces of shredded lettuce at one another, the elder of the pair taking chances to weave slithers of the green vegetable into his brother's hair, who looked indignant and was trying to dip Fili's moustache braids into the squidgy bits of a tomato. Their playful giggles rang through the open walled dining hall, getting lost to anyone who wasn't watching them as intently as intently as Calla was. She giggled when a carrot sailed past her ear, catching Fili in the cheek. Both the dwarf and hobbit turned to find out the origin of the flying vegetable. Bilbo grinned back at his cousin, a mischievous look that had been long lost had returned to his face, reminding her of when they were carefree children.

"Oh really Mr Baggins?" came Fili's playful growl and Calla had to duck as a handful of sweetcorn was flung their way.

That was the moment that confirmed her reason for joining the quest, this was where her heart belonged.

"You are brave little one" the lilting voice echoed in her head once again, but Calla decided not to reply as she dunked a slender finger in a green vegetable dip and leaned across the table to dab a dollop of it onto the end of Kili's nose, which he immediately tried to lick off by sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes.

"Enough! If you four are finished eating your food, go and do something useful." Thorin boomed from the top of the table, his voice was stern but his blue eyes held a humoured glint.

They got up from the table, the wounded pair being helped by their relatives and headed back to the infirmary, where they all sat on or around Calla's hospital bed. Kili and Calla accepted the vials of blue healing potion, pulling faces at the disgusting taste.

"It may not taste wonderful, but it means even your deepest wounds should be healed by morning. Sore, but healed." said the elf nurse as she cleared away the discarded bottles. "You may leave the infirmary, some exercise will do you both good, nothing too strenuous." and with that she left the four of them alone, lounging on the silk coated bed.

"Keep yourself steady, brace your elbow and pull the string back to your ear." Kili calmly instructed Calla as she took her first chance to practice with her new bow. She had never used such a weapon before and was glad Kili was willing to help her. Beside them Bilbo was also getting a lesson in sword play with Fili.

"Ow!" she exclaimed as she dropped the string by accident and it twanged painfully against the exposed inside of her elbow, leave a red graze in its wake. "Kili, I can't do this!" she moaned as she fixed him with puppy dog eyes. The prince shook his head, a faint smile on his lips as he took a step closer, so his chest was pressed firmly against her back and his lips were next to her ear, his breath softly ruffling her loose red hair. "Yes, you can. Lets try again." he instructed, his voice hushed and velvet soft. He braced his own arms against hers, their fingers intertwining as he helped her draw the string back as far as the bow would take it. The released the empty string and with a whipping noise it fired and an invisible arrow into the distance.

"Try again, but this time ..." Kili cooed as he pulled an arrow from his own quiver and locking it into the string, "We'll use an arrow." they repeated the process again, as they fired the sharp bolt into the target the elves had set up for them. Calla tried to steady her breathing and calm her heart that was just threatening to beat right through her chest, but it was no use with the dwarf prince in such close proximity. She breathed in the spicy scent of his skin, as he whispered in her ear.

"That was great, why don't you try again? Without me this time?" and with that he stepped away, leaving Calla to feel a chill now that the warmth of his body had left hers.

"I can do this" she whispered the mantra over and over again to herself as she drew the bow's string back to her ear, wincing through the stinging in her side, and let go sending the arrow sailing through the air with a loud whistle until it his the blue ring on the target.

Calla opened her eyes, which she had squeezed shut as soon as the arrow had begun its flight, hoping that it would hit the target. A wave of relief and excitement coursed through her veins as she saw the feathers and shaft clearly embedded in the straw circle. A Cheshire cat grin stretched across her pretty face as she jumped a little into the air, ignoring the sudden jolt of pain this radiated through her side. She turned to Kili who was chuckling lightly and clapping at her effort. She closed the small gap between them with a few steps and threw her arms around his neck, enveloping him in a tight hug. His thick, dark hair tickled against her cheek with every breath she took. "I did it!" she said almost inaudibly, the smile never leaving her happy face.

"see, I knew you could do it." the dwarf prince replied as he squeezed her waist gently with his large hands, not wanting to aggravate her wounds.

"Are you proud of me?" the young hobbit asked as she pulled back slightly to look up into Kili's dark chocolatey eyes, the tips of their noses touched as their eye contact continued to lock them together.

"I will always be proud of you, beautiful girl." he replied, his voice a husky whisper. He closed the gap between them swiftly, his lips capturing hers in a heated, passionate kiss that made Calla's knees wobble beneath her and be glad that her prince was effectively holding her up. The kiss became more heated when the red head turned her face slightly and parted her lips allowing Kili's tongue access to the moist cavern of her mouth, where it glided sensually against hers. A contented moan left her lips as one of his hands slid from her waist to knot into her length of curls.

Fili and Bilbo had stopped in their play combat when they realised there was no sound coming from the training pair beside them. Bilbo's cheeks flushed a brilliant scarlet as he observed the passionate clinch his cousin was wrapped in.

"Well, well, I didn't think my baby brother had that much in him." Fili chuckled as he placed a hand on his small friends shoulder and nudging him in the direction of the courtyard's entry way, "c'mon, lets leave the love birds alone." Bilbo agreed and scurried off into the stone hallway, just in time to miss the fleeting grimace of jealousy that flooded the blond prince's face as he looked back at the kissing couple one last time.

****

"Tis a mighty fine place lass, but nothing like our home in Erebor." Boasted Dwalin as he roughly bit the top off of a freshly cooked sausage. He waved the remainder at Calla for emphasis. "Erebor in festival time was full of lights, good food, good ale, music, dancing … there was not a night during the may festivals where we would return to our beds afore the wee hours."

Calla smiled kindly at the hardened warrior as he exposed a soft side while recanting tales of his home, the dwarves that were sat around them murmured their remembrance of such nights, including Kili who was laid out beside her, his dark head rested in her lap as her fingers playfully tangled in his hair. The prince poked a sausage cooking in the enormous pan with a sharp stick that had been laying in the embers. The female hobbit tutted and slapped playfully at his hand, earning a surprised look from his handsome face.

"What?"

"You don't know where that stick has been, it could have all sorts on it." she scolded in a mother like tone, a titter sounded around the group as they watched the heated banter.

"It was in the fire, you watched me pick it up!"

"Yes, but where was it before that? Hmm?"

"I doubt he cares about that. Bit of dirt goes a long way to keep you strong, isn't that right brother?" Fili cut in as he sat down heavily beside Calla, trying not to spill either of the two large tankards of ale he clutched in his hands. He deftly passed one to his younger brother who sat upright, and immediately drained the mug.

"Yup, keeps your health up. We used to eat dirt and all sorts when we were young." he finally answered as he wiped a stray dribble of ale from his chin with his baby blue elven tunic.

"Never did us any harm. Look at us now." Fili finished grinning widely at her, his cheeks donning deep set dimples.

"And that in itself should be enough for you to wash everythin' lassie!" joked Bofur as he grabbed one of the sausages from the pan, examining it carefully, before calling his brother's name before hurling it across the room to the large dwarf, who expertly caught it, the already creaking table beneath him snapping and dropping poor Bombur onto the ground. Howls of laughter rang through the band of dwarves.

"Still, I don't want you getting sick!" Calla said once again, her mother like tone being betrayed by the wide smile on her lips. "Either of you." she emphasised as she poked each brother in the chest with a long, dainty finger. A moment passed and her slender brows came together in confusion as she thought over a previous conversation, "Kili, how do you know what the festivals were like? You aren't old enough to have seen Erebor."

The handsome younger prince arched an eyebrow at her as he swallowed a mouthful of sausage, "No, but we had celebrations in Erid Luin too. It was the only thing that could keep up morale. But not everyone enjoyed it so much … Ma always told us about how our uncle would dance, and laugh and drink like the rest of his people … but in Erid Luin"

"I had other duties to perform. I had no time for frivolity." Finished the exiled dwarf king as he entered the courtyard, his presence instantly commanding everyone's attention. "There has been a change. We need to leave at dawn. In silence, lest our quest be cut short by the white wizard who means to abolish it. All of you, get some rest and make sure to be ready." he grumbled as he stepped through the crowd to his bedding roll, an action that was quickly followed by the rest of the dwarves who were eager to turn in.

Calla cuddled down beneath the fur blanket that covered both her and the sleeping brothers, their body heat helping to shield her from the cold night air. Her fingers traced softly over the lines of Kili's peaceful face, as she tried to memorise every dip and raise of his skull. One of his large hands rested on her hip, keeping her body close to his, his other arm folded beneath his head.

"Calla, I have something for you." called the ghostly voice of Gladriel once again. Calla looked around for the sight of the elven witch, but seeing nothing mentally pushed an answer in reply,

"Where will I find you?"

"By the river."

Calla sighed and eased Kili's hand from her hip, careful not to wake him from his deep slumber, as she slipped from the warm folds of the blanket and into the chill night air. Her dainty hands rubbed over her goose-bump covered arms as she climbed over Fili and soundlessly made her way through the sleeping dwarves and winding passageways to the river bank. If she had looked behind her she would have see the blond prince sit up from their bed roll, his cool blue eyes watching her retreating form as she disappeared into the darkness.

****

"What did you want me for my lady?" Calla asked politely as she bit back a yawn, the woman in white she was approaching turned and smiled at her, her icy blue eyes looking kindly on the small being.

"I bring you a gift, one that will help on your journey." Gladriel floated over to calla and held her pale hand out, a small golden vial clutched in the delicate fingers, "It is a healing elixir. It will save from mortal wounds. But use it sparingly, as there is very little."

Calla marvelled at the golden pendant as the graceful elf fastened the chain around her neck, "But why me?" she questioned as she fingered the golden, tear shaped bottle.

"Good comes from the hearts of everyday folk. I believe you will use it well."

"Thank you my lady. How will I repay you?" She asked looking up into the face of the regal blond, who shook her head and placed a long finger over her pale lips.

"Hush. Be safe my child. And go, the sun will be rising soon."

Calla thanked Gladriel one more time and turned to make her way back to the dwarfs' sleeping quarters when she heard the voice in her mind again, "And be careful, there will more than one man with eyes for you." Calla's eyes widened at the comment and she turned back to question the elven queen, but the river bank before her was now empty, as if no one had ever been there.


	16. Confessions

Calla's brow creased in confusion as she eyed the now empty river bank. What had the lady Gladriel meant? More than one man would have eyes for her? That was just silly, she was never one to be followed around by love sick boys, that was a fate reserved for hobbits like Crystal O'Donnel, with her flawless skin, shining blond hair and baby blue eyes. Calla was basically her polar opposite. She quickly shook off the odd comment and made her way back through the winding halls of Rivendell.

Just before she reached the clearing that the dwarves had claimed as their home while staying in the elven city, a strong hand wrapped around her upper arm, pulling her into the shadow of a towering pillar.

"Oh my!" she breathed out heavily when her back met the chilled stone of the support. She swallowed heavily, quickly summoning her courage to look up at her captor, her eyes hardening in anger at the assault, even if it was gentle, but all the hard feelings melted away when her deep brown eyes locked with the deep pools of blue green that belonged to Fili. "Fili, you scared me!" she scolded, slapping a hand across his chest in a mock defence, but her lips quirked up into a small smile. The blond prince's expression never changed, his lips set in a hard line.

"Fili, what's the matter?" She pushed, gently trying to coax the prince to explain what was going on in his head and why he had pinned her to a pillar out of sight.

Fili sighed and dropped both his head and arm in shame, freeing Calla from obstruction, but the hobbit didn't move, placing her dainty hand beneath the dwarf's hard jaw line she tipped his head up to meet her gaze once more. "What is it?" she tried again, her voice taking on a softer tone as she reached for one of his hands, giving the appendage a small squeeze of reassurance.

"I am ..." he began, his voice coming out a husky whisper. He paused searching for the right word. "envious … envious of my little brother." he closed his eyes in self reproach, his free hand nervously fiddling with the hem of his sleeve.

"What have you to be envious about? You share everything. I have never seen brothers so close in my life." She asked, somewhat startled with the behaviour of the normally composed and confident dwarf.

Fili looked into her eyes, tears brimming along the bottom of his aqua irises, "He ..." he began slowly, unsure of himself "... has you."

"Me?" Calla choked out, her breath catching in her throat, as her mind drifted back to Gladriel's words.

"He has you by his side, to protect and to show he cares … to show love."

"Fili, I ..." she began, beginning to feel uncomfortable in the situation, her bare feet shuffling on the stone floor.

"I cannot show such things from a distance. And I may never return to Erid Luin to show it from close by." Calla's eyebrows creased as the meaning of what Fili was saying dawned on her. "She was so angry when I left. She told me she could not wait for me, to maybe never return." Tears started to track their way down the now reddened cheeks of the royal dwarf, as he lowered his head the little drops splashed onto the stone ground.

"Oh Fili, come here." She chuckled as she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, enveloping him in a tight hug, he quickly conceded, his hands wrapping around her waist. "She was upset that you were leaving her. People in love get scared. Its what they do." she reassured as she pulled away and pressed a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm sure one day, when our quest is done, you will return to Erid Luin, and you will be able to tell her everything, how you feel and how much you missed her while you were gone."

"What if she didn't wait for me? What if she found another?"

"I thought you dwarves only loved once? But if she has, you can still tell her all those things, you will just have have to find a way to move on and let her live her life. Even if that life doesn't include you."

Fili's lips took on a thin smile as he sniffed back any underlying tears and used his tunic's sleeve to wipe any remnants from his face, it would not do to have a dwarf prince cry in front of his peers.

"Thank you." he whispered, holding a hand out to her gently. "We better return before anyone notices we are gone. Dawn is still a few hours away."

Calla accepted his extended hand and they made their way through the stone corridor in comfortable silence until they reached the dwarf camp, where everyone was sleeping, the sounds of their combined hearty snores nearly lifting the roof from the courtyard. Carefully the pair stepped over a sleeping Bombur and Bifur, and dropped down into the bedding role they shared with Kili, who still slept peacefully as Calla slid down next to him and he unconsciously wrapped an arm over her tummy. After a few minutes of silence she turned her head to face Fili, whose moustache braids were stirring with each breath as it deepened with the prospect of sleep. "What's her name?" Calla whispered quietly, not knowing whether the prince could still hear her or whether he was too overcome with slumber to comprehend her words. A few beats of silence followed, and the young hobbit decided that her question would go unanswered, so she turned back to Kili, closing her eyes finally to welcome sleep.

"Luna" Fili breathed a few seconds later. Calla was unsure whether the answer was directed at her, or whether he was talking in his sleep.

****

"Get up. We must leave now! Pack your things as quickly and quietly as you can." Called Thorin, as he woke each member of the company in turn, the courtyard filled with a few irritated grumbles and the muffled sound of objects being packed as quietly as they could.

Calla shouldered her pack, wincing at the weight of it on her wound, but let no sound escape her lips. The moon still hung in the sky casting a silvery beam over the track of the mountain the company would be heading for that morning. Stifling a yawn, she gathered her cherry red curls off of her neck and back, tying them into a ponytail with a length of leather cord. "Will you allow me to braid your hair when we rest next?" asked the sweet voice of Kili, directly next to her ear, as she tied the knot in the binding, "It will never get in your way." the voice coaxed again, as she turned to face the dark haired dwarf who was grinning at her, his cheeks taking on large dimples and his eyes glowing with mischief.

"If you so wish to." She answered returning his sweet smile, as she stood on her tip toes, capturing his soft lips with hers. A large, sturdy hand on her back drew her petite body to his, pressing their chests together as he let his free hand cup the back of her head, deepening the kiss as his tongue ran lightly over her bottom lip, begging for entrance, which she willingly gave, her hands bracing themselves in the thick material of his dwarf tunic, which he had been so happy to put back on.

"Come on love birds time to leave." Called Dwalin in a stern voice, but the smirk on his lips betrayed his strict outlook.

Calla and Kili broke apart, whispering "Yes Mr Dwalin." They joined hands and fell into step behind the rest of the company, Fili quickly joining their side and Bilbo walking a few steps in front of them.

"What's that? You didn't have it when you left the Shire." Bilbo questioned, one pudgy little finger pointing to the intricate vial around Calla's neck, when they stopped for lunch. Behind them Rivendell glittered in the morning light and ahead lay steep mountains coated with deep snow. Calla was dreading how cold the snow would be on her bare toes. Hobbit feet, even though strong from continual bare use, still got intensely cold and could easily go numb, she could remember Old Man Proudfoot telling her stories of how his brother had lost two toes to frost bite one year when the winter had taken the shire with surprising force.

"It was a gift, from Gladriel." she answered quickly, pulling the collar of her specially made tunic over the precious pendant.

"Well its very beautiful, cousin. It suits you." Bilbo commented, completely unaware of Calla's unusual action towards the piece of Jewellery in question.

"Just like the one who owns it." Kili whispered in her ear, as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, making a light blush flow over her face.

"We must move ahead!" Thorin commanded as he stood and began making his way up the path of the mountain, his heavy animal skin boots crunching through the deep snow.

"Is that where you had gone when I found you last night?" Fili asked in a low tone, so only Calla would hear him as they followed their fallen king up the slope, he looked back at her over his shoulder and she nodded, knowing Kili was close enough behind her to hear any verbal answer she could give. Clearly the elder of the two brothers wished to keep the encounter secret.

****

The wind whipped at their faces, and the cold of the snow bit at any uncovered skin as they traipsed their way along the dangerously thin, winding road. Fili had moved further ahead in the company allowing Bilbo to walk in front of his cousin, the larger bodies of Kili and Dwalin shielding the pair from the majority of the freezing night rain. A section of the rock began to crumble beneath the feet of the two hobbits who yelled in fright and clung to each other as the stone beneath their feet gave way. Between them Kili, Dwalin and Bofur managed to drag the startled pair back onto the surface, their small bodies shaking with both fear and cold.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin shouted over the rain, his voice nearly drowned out by the torrential waterfall.

"Look out!" shouted Dwalin as a large chunk of rock flew threw the air, crashing into the mountainside above their heads and splintering into hundreds of pieces that rained down upon them like shrapnel.

"This is no thunderstorm!" cried Balin as he clung onto the rock of the mountain face "It's a thunder battle!" He pointed to a large stone man as it broke away from the body of another mountain. "Look!"

"Stone giants!" gulped Bofur as he nervously swapped his axe from one hand to the other. "The legends are true!"

The stone giant launched another boulder at a counterpart who rounded the horizon, its frame making a threatening, black silhouette against the sky.

"Take cover!" shouted Thorin afraid for the safety of his kinsmen. The dwarves complied, pressing themselves as far back against the wall as they could. A loud groan came from the mountain they stood on as a split appeared between Kili and Fili (who had fallen back to be closer to his brother).

The crack widened pulling the two brothers apart. They shouted and held out their hands in a attempt to reach each other, but their fingers missed by mere centimetres. Fear started to well up in Kili's chest as he screamed his brother's name over the raucous. Calla's eyes filled with tears as she watched the brothers' anguish, completely powerless to help them. With an unearthly moan the stone giant, on whom's knees the company was standing, got to his feet. His sharp movements making it hard for the dwarves and hobbits to stay upright. Calla dug her nails into the sharp, jagged rocks ignoring the pain that was emanating from her fingers as the stone cut them to shreds, rivers of blood dribbling down her fingers and staining the snow beneath her.

A fight commenced between the giants, one head butting the other with an almighty crack. The giant stumbled back, the knee that Thorin, Gloin, Oin, ,Bofur, Balin, Dwalin, Kili, Bilbo and Calla had been stood on connected with a jutting outcrop and the members of the company piled onto the shelf quickly, vacating the knee that had been inhabiting.

The giants continued to fight with the rest of the company clinging onto the stone leg for dear life. One particularly heavy punch began to fell the giant as it crashed down into another mountain face, falling on its knees, the dwarves that had been residing their crashed into the mountainside, yells and screams coming from their mouths. A resounding silence clung to the air as the rocks collided.

"Fili!" screamed Thorin, running to the outcrop's edge as the body of the giant fell away into the bottomless crevice below. Kili's body started to shake as he realised his brother was probably dead. His skin turning a pallid white and his eyes turning glassy with tears. He pushed past the hobbits and speedily made his way to his uncle who was rounding the corner.

Calla let him go, knowing he had to see whether his brother would see another sun rise. She gripped Bilbo's hand and shot him a tear logged smile as she fought her own inner battle against the outcome of her friends lives. The dwarves were too busy fighting to get closer to their kin that no one noticed the panic that fell over the faces of the hobbits as the Stone giants arm struck the rock they were standing on and it crumbled beneath their feet. The cousin's looked at each other as the floor fell away, and they dropped into the inky blackness below.

"They're Alive!" cried Thorin in joy as they observed the group of somewhat dazed but fully conscious and bruised dwarves. Fili and Kili exchanged a happy smile as the younger brother fought back his tears for a second time.

Bofur looked behind him and his heart dropped into his feet, feeling sick to his stomach as he yelled "Where are Calla and Bilbo? Where are the Hobbits?" as he surveyed the empty ledge they had been standing on mere moments before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we are you lovely people, one hotly awaited chapter. I hope this has resolved any issues people had with the whole Fili thing ... I did say I had something up my sleeve ... it just brings them closer. I'm sorry if she seems a bit girly in this chapter, but even the toughest girl has a sensitive side, and don't worry she'll be back to kicking ass in the next chapter! I do hope you like it! and please review!
> 
> Happy Reading!


	17. Grieving, Dwarf style

'This is it?' Calla thought to herself as her body plummeted into the inky blackness of the crevice, her mind was blank as she struggled to grab onto any ledges that were jutting out of the cliff face, her dainty fingers that had already been damaged by the harsh stone were now torn to shreds and stinging. The air whistled past her ears as she fell, and she swallowed hard trying to catch her breath and stilling her insides in the face of death. A death that she was sure was not a befitting end to her tale, she had always imagined that she would grow old and white haired, reading huge story book in front of the fire to her many grand children, but she was sure that was merely a wasted dream now that she watched Bilbo's feet dangling a long way above her, and heard the muffled shouts and cries from the pack of dwarves on the ledge above. A harsh groan left her lips as her back connected with a smooth stone step that was cut into the wall, her head bouncing of the surface with a painful resounding crack. A almost porch like roof covered the majority of the step obscuring her view of her beloved cousin and friends, she screamed and cried her hardest, trying to attract their attention, but her words were quickly carried away and drowned out by the heavy blustering wind.

Determined she would get her friends' attentions she slowly struggled to her knees, her head pounding from the new wound that had begun to leak deep red blood onto the dull grey stone she battled against the wind that was whipping matted tendrils of cherry into her sore eyes and trying with all its might to blow her off of her now unsteady feet, just as she reached the edge, preparing herself for what was going to be a long and dangerous climb, something heavy was brought down onto the back of her head, instantly felling the young hobbit, her body crumpling like soggy paper into the waiting arms of a unseen assailant.

****

"There! Grab him!" Cried one of the dwarves as they spotted Bilbo's fingers clinging onto the sharp rock edge for dear life, his frightened whimpers echoed a reply as he tried to adjust his strength, and pull himself up, but the task was near impossible succeeding in only tiring the strained appendages even more. The soft cry he knew to be Calla's as she flew through the air into the darkness below him broke his heart, building a well of tears that slowly trickled down his cheeks, mingling with the rain that was pelting his face. A melee of pudgy hands were thrust in his face along with a chorus of 'Bilbo!'s and 'Take my hand's. Using all of his strength Bilbo reached out in an attempt to grab the wool covered hand of Bofur, but their rain drenched fingers slipped apart, making the hobbit's only grip falter on the rock. Without thinking, Thorin threw himself off the edge, using the much greater strength her knew he possessed to push to Hobbit to safety, before being hauled back up by his comrades.

Bilbo collapsed back onto the rocky ledge in a heap, he tucked his knees into his chest tightly and tried to contain his sobs as he felt the burning hot gaze of the uncrowned king baring down on his smaller figure. "I thought we'd lost our burglar!" joked Dwalin, raising his voice over the howling wind to be heard, a loud growl sounded in Thorin's throat before he bit back a harsh reply.

"He's been lost ever since he left home … he should never have come, he has no place amongst us."

The words from the group's leader stung the halfling but no where near as much as the frantic look that had befallen the face of the youngest Durin heir. Kili fell to his knees and peered over the edge, his voice choked with fear and tears as he called for Calla, his eyes scanning the depth of the drop but only being met with a bone chilling darkness. A grave silence fell over the company as they too realised their second hobbit companion was no where to be seen. "Calla!" Kili cried again, his face contorting in pain and grief,

"Where is she?" he asked, turning his dark gaze on the clearly distraught hobbit. His mouth was set in a hard line, while anger tip toed around in his dark irises.

"I don't know." Bilbo whispered, his voice barely audible over the harsh weather conditions. "She fell, when the rock went she grabbed my leg, but she lost her grip. I heard her cry."

The young dwarf sat back into the snow, running his hands over his face, unsure of what to do with them. He had nearly lost his brother, and now he had lost Calla … his hobbit … his love. It tore painfully at his heart and all he wanted to do was scream and cry into the blackness, but he sniffed the over whelming emotions back knowing that was not how dwarves were to be seen. He was a warrior and had to be strong on the outside, even if his insides were caving in in grief.

"I'm sorry laddie. If she fell, there'll be no rescuing her." Balin comforted in a soothing voice as he gripped the young prince's shoulder. Kili felt his entire body numb as the rest of the company filtered fast him, each giving his shoulder a supportive squeeze as they passed. Fili knelt beside his brother, wrapping his arms around his shoulders in an unusually affectionate display of brotherly love, the blond said nothing but helped the grieving pair to their feet as the three followed the rest of the men further up the mountain, a sorrowful silence surrounding each member, as their minds traced back over the life and enjoyment the bubbly red head had brought to their quest, little beads of tears brewing in the eyes of each dwarf at her memory.

****

"Ahead! A cave!" Dwalin's yell cut through the still heavily grief filled silence, as he pointed to an opening in the cliff face just ahead of their party. Caves in the misty mountains were rarely unoccupied, but they were in desperate need of shelter.

"It looks safe enough" grunted the burly warrior as he and Thorin stepped into the cave's mouth ahead of the rest of the group, their eyes scanning the darkness with their swords drawn against any dangers that could be lurking in the cavern's depths. "Check right to the back, caves in the mountains are seldom unoccupied" The king instructed gruffly as they continued their search. Finding the cave empty of any orcs or goblins they called the rest of the party into the dry. The face of each dwarf was drawn and gloomy looking, their eyes red rimmed and burdened with black bags.

"Right then" Gloin said breaking through the heavy silence as he dropped a pile of wood onto the floor, with a loud thunk. "Lets get a fire goin'"

"No, no fires. Not in this place." Thorin cut him off, as he strode around the cave, wariness still filling his every step. A sniff caught the surly king's attention, and he was about to open his mouth to reprimand the hobbit for making the pitiful noise when he glanced up realising the sound had come from his youngest nephew, who had collapsed unceremoniously against a wall, his face held in his large hands, his shoulders shaking as he dropped his 'tough warrior' outlook and let his emotions take him over, watery sobs racking his body. Fili dropped down beside his younger sibling, his own eyes and nose red with unshed tears. The brothers leaned into each other for support, they were normally the uplifting trouble makers of the group but now all their companions did was spare them, pitying glances as they went about their business of cooking and laying out bed rolls. He pursed his lips and turned away from the heart wrenching sight, going about his own duties, making a mental note to stay close to his family throughout the night in case they needed him.

An hour or so later, everyone had settled into their bed rolls, except Bofur who was on watch, absent mindedly whittling away at a small wooden bear he had intended to give to Calla as a gift, having learnt early on that she adored animals and had an affinity with them, calming the ponies easily when none of the dwarves could. Thorin nodded a wordless good night to the toymaker and made his way through the mass of bodies to where his nephews slept fitfully, their faces contorting in uncomfortable ways. Sighing he removed his heavy fur lined cloak and draped in over the pair, like he used to when they were young and sleep eluded them. True to form, their bodies stilled almost instantly as Thorin slid into his own bed roll beside them, though his own slumber remained far away. So he heard the hushed conversation Bofur was having with the hobbit, who was trying to leave the cave, and company.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bofur whispered, jumping to his feet, careful to not wake the others.

"Back to Rivendell, and then home to bag end."

"No! You can't leave us now! You're one of us! Part of the company!"

"I'm not though, am I?" questioned the hobbit, his voice thick. "You heard Thorin, he said I don't belong, and he was right … unlike my beautiful Calla, I'm not a Took … I'm a Baggins … I don't know what I was thinking. I … we … shouldn't have left."

"You're grieving and home sick!" reasoned Bofur, his voice pleading "I understand that."

"NO! No you don't understand, none of you do! You're used to this! You're used to travelling and losing the people you love along the way … you don't belong any where! Calla and I … we belonged in The Shire, that was our home! And if we hadn't have left, she'd still be ..." Bilbo took a breath, looking sheepishly up at his friend, "Look I'm sorry … but … hmm" the hobbits words trailed off, unsure what to say.

"No, you're right … we don't belong anywhere." Bofur murmured as he looked around at the sleeping dwarves, "I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do!" he clapped Bilbo on the shoulder affectionately before stepping back and narrowing his eyes suspiciously at a pale blue light that radiated from Bilbo's sheath, "What's that?"

Bilbo looked down and slowly drew the glowing elvish blade out of its holster, fear flooding his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello you wonderful wonderful people!
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience in waiting for me to finish my degree, and I can officially announce ... 'I'm back baby!' so I hope you enjoy it, please review, I'd love to hear from you all! and i so want to see this story get 500 reviews ... that'd be awsome!
> 
> anyway i hope you liked it, and thank you for waiting!
> 
> Happy Reading!


	18. Reunion

Thorin's stormy blue eyes stared at the sandy cave floor, the intensity of his gaze threatening to burn a hole through the stone. He swallowed heavily, knowing in his heart he had been harsh on the halfling, cruel and unkind. He as much as any one of the company understood the pain of being away from their home, and the volcano of sorrow that washed to your very core at the loss of a loved one. And yet the mighty king under the mountain refused to back down and apologise to the hobbit. It would be a sore day in his mind, Thorin thought, when he would admit he was wrong to a creature who had never seen the world or its unforgiving hardships. He closed his eyes, trying to salvage any slivers of sleep that were still to be had, when Bofur's voice disturbed his bid for slumber.

"What's that?" asked the hatted dwarf as an eerie white-blue light filtered through the cave's interior. Wary silence flooded over the awake trio, the only sound was a slight hiss which steadily grew louder as it made its way through the sleeping pack of dwarves. Their eyes widened in horror as a dip began to form in the sand creating a sizeable ditch in its wake.

"Wake up!" Thorin demanded as he rose slightly from his bed roll, brow set in a deep scowl and his voice commanding. The other dwarves stirred and began to sit up, rubbing the sleep away from their heavy lidded eyes, but none had chance to move before the sandy ditch gave way. Two halves of a stone door swinging open beneath them, flinging all thirteen dwarves and the hobbit into the pitch darkness of a smelly and slimy tunnel. Their bellows of fright and anger ricocheted off of the scummy walls as they careened head over heels into one another, hands reaching out to grab ledges or anything that may have broken their fall, but there was nothing, just an oozy black mucus that coated their fingers as they pawed at the walls.

With screams of pain and dense thuds the dwarves fell one by one from the open tunnel mouth, their bodies being caught in an odd bowl shaped basket that looked as if it was made from a mixture of the mountain's rocky insides and pieces of bone that had been bound together, by foul looking pieces of rope, that too dripped with something malodorous and sticky. Nori was the first to hit the basket, a loud moaning exiting his mouth as his older brother fell on top of him, Fili, Kili and Bofur followed in quick succession, crushing the brothers below them. Dwalin has the next to come flying out of the hole, landing face first onto the backs of the younger Durin heirs. Thorin was next into the frey, a loud grunt leaving his lips as Dwalin's axes stabbed him in the shoulder blades. Gloin shrieked with pain as Oin held on tightly to his big, red beard, keeping them together as they landed in an unceremonious heap. Fili and Kili had just struggled to their feet out of the dwarf pile when a screaming Ori came tumbling down onto Kili's back, the younger prince taking his brother down with him in a domino effect. A flurry of white and red accompanied by a wheezy 'Ooosh!' announced the arrival of Balin, who was quickly buried beneath Bifur as he slammed into the group, shouting curses in Khazdul. All of the dwarves started to pick themselves up, grabbing for their weapons when a squeezed moan came from the entrance above them, looking up they all watched as Bombur's feet wriggled in mid air, his belly just a little too large to fit through the hole in one go. With an almighty shuffle the cook broke free his body hurtling into the middle of the group, who could only brace themselves for his weight.

Bilbo was the last to fall from the hole, his little body becoming lost in the sea of moaning dwarves as they righted themselves and tried to grab onto their belongings. No sooner had the company managed to regroup and at least find their weapons, when a swarm of ugly green goblins descended upon them, grabbing at their clothes and skin with long, bulbous fingers that were moist and clammy with Mahal knows what. Their twisted mouths shrieked with shrill high screeches and their yellowed, jagged teeth snapped at a few of the dwarves faces, making them recoil in disgust. As they were dragged from the basket by these loathsome creatures, Fili and Kili instinctively reached for their uncle, who tried to grab onto their hands before being dragged away by his mane of black curls.

Bilbo dropped to his hands and knees, shaking as the mob of goblins and dwarves pushed and shoved past him down a narrow, stone gang way, leaving the hobbit curled, unnoticed on the pathway. As they were being led away Nori glanced over his shoulder to the hobbit, his eyes widening as he saw the path clear, with only Bilbo residing on it. Realising he was alone the half-ling scuttled away to one side where he would be hidden, but could still observe what was happening to his friends as they fought against the goblins, their shouts and exclamations ringing through the walls of the mountain. When the disappeared around a corner, Bilbo got to his feet, his demeanour a little wobbly as he unsheathed his sword and held it before him, the blue light illuminating the red darkness around him. Trying his hardest to move quietly he tiptoed along the path the goblins had taken, his large hairy feet barely making a sound. He moved undetected for a few seconds before a stray goblin dropped to the ground in front of him, its glutinous skin glistening in the bursts of fire light and its nasty teeth gnashing menacingly.

Bilbo gulped and brandished his glowing sword before him, ready for the oncoming scuffle. Blows were dealt back and forth, but the unexpected weight of his opponent clinging to his back made Bilbo sway, loosing his footing on the crumbling edge, a mistake that sent both the hobbit and the goblin tumbling into the darkness below.

****

The goblins continued to prod and shove at the dwarves as they pushed them down winding pathways, their high pitched chattering becoming a din as more of the vile creatures appeared along the way. The group looked around as the entered a large clearing, at the head of which sat a giant stone throne, the arms made out of pieces of skull and stretched skin that had blackened with age. The smell and look of the chair made Kili recoil, wrinkling his nose as he backed up, trying to stay close to his brother for support. Fili however, was not paying attention to his brother's reaction, or the chair itself, his eyes were drawn to a lump that was slumped against the throne, a dirty, mould covered sheet obscuring what was under it. "What's that?" he breathed, nudging his brother to look at the unknown object. The youngest Durin heir narrowed his aching eyes, but shook his head, at as much of a loss as his brother was. Lounging on the throne was a goblin, whose size and weight even made Bombur look thin, his chins jiggled as he took each wheezing breath and his claw like fingers tapped a repetitive beat on the top of a skull. Several smaller goblins knelt below him, acting as a stool for his enormous feet.

The goblins surrounding the dwarves dropped the weapons they had stolen onto the ground in a haphazard pile before their king, who turned a lazy eye onto the new arrivals, before heaving himself up, not caring about the pile of his subjects that had been squished to death beneath his weight at his movement.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" he mused as he leaned close, his putrid breath flowing over the dwarves who fought their reflex to gag. "Thieves? Assassins?"

"Dwarves, your malevolence" replied a much smaller goblin, who was heading the charge.

"Dwarves?!" echoed the goblin king in a high tone.

"We found em on the front porch."

"Well!" he commanded with a large wave of his hand. "Don't just stand there! Search them!"

The dwarves pushed and shoved back at the grubby hands that pulled and pawed through their pockets and clothing. Kili watched the goblin king with a dark look fixed on his handsome features, his keen ears not missing the small sigh that emanated from the cloth covered object by the throne.

"Shut it up!" hollered the king, turning his gaze on one of his servant, who swiftly kicked the object with a lumpy foot, resulting in the covered creature giving a pained shriek. The servant kicked once again, this time dislodging a piece of the cloth, revealing a sliver of cherry red that made the young prince's heart skip a beat. Fili too had noticed the streak of red and had his eyes trained on the lump.

"What are you doing in these parts?" asked the goblin king, his eyes watching the faces of each dwarf, a smirk finding his lips as he caught the direction in which both princes were staring. Silence was the only answer he received from the company. "Very well, if they will not talk … we will make them squawk!" he shouted cheerily, earning a round of cheers from the goblins that lined the walls all around them. "Bring up the mangler! Bring up the bone breaker! We'll start with this one ..." he pointed in the direction of the cloth covered body with his staff, an evil smile lapping at his lips.

Murmurs and whispers of anger surged through the dwarves as they watched the servant remove the sheet from the limp body below, revealing the battered frame and red hair belonging to their second hobbit companion. Slowly she lifted her head up and looked into the eyes of the dwarves, immediately seeking the safety of Kili's deep brown pools. A tear slid from her red rimmed eyes and tracked down her cheek as she attempted to smile at her prince through the gag that was wedged between her bruised and split lips. Kili howled in anger and tried to push himself forward through the wall of goblins to get to her, but several sharp little daggers were thrust forward into his abdomen, threatening any move he made. Fili wrapped a hand around his little brother's elbow, his fingers squeezing him meaningfully.

The goblins hauled her up by a set of rusty chains that encased her wrists, and threw her forward, making her kneel unwillingly at the feet of the goblin king.

"I take it this is yours?" giggled the king, leaning down close to Kili as he spoke, his breath ruffling the royal dwarf's dark hair. "The way you look at her … its so … touching." he spat the last word in a mocking tone, making Kili reel back slightly, wincing at the saliva that had covered his skin.

The young dwarf said nothing but maintained eye contact with the female hobbit, trying to communicate with her solely through his eyes, barely even acknowledging the goblin king who was still waiting on his answer.

"No? Well in that case I'm sure you wont mind seeing her die."

The king cackled loudly and signalled to a pair of goblins who lifted Calla from the floor. She kicked and wriggled in their grasps trying to pull away as they prepared her to be tied to the contraption that had been dubbed 'the mangler'.

"Wait!" called a deep, authoritative voice, causing the hands carrying her to still. Using all her strength Calla raised her head and watched as Thorin pushed his way through the crowd, a determined look on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello you lovely people!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this one, i know there was a bit of scene setting before the reunion, but you know, it had to be done ... Anyway thank you all for your support and your reviews! it means a lot to me! please keep them coming! ah yeah and if anyone was wondering, my cover photo ... is our lovely Calla ... now you can all see her!
> 
> and uh ... Happy Reading!
> 
> xx :)


	19. Calla Took: Warrior Hobbit

"Well, well, well … what have we here?" Cackled the goblin king, as he stared down at the dwarf king, a set of slimy yellow teeth bared in a nasty grin. "Thorin, son of Thrain, Son of Thror … King under the mountain ..." he dipped into a low, mocking bow as shrill laughs rang through the dank cave. "... Oh but I'm forgetting … you don't have a mountain … and you're not a king … so that makes you … nobody really." the gargantuan goblin continued, his bulgy eyes glistening with mirth as he ridiculed the normally tall and proud dwarf.

"He's a better king than you'll ever be you disgusting creature." came a defensive feminine shout, causing both the goblins and dwarves to stare dumbfounded at the tiny red haired hobbit, who was straining against the repulsive green creatures that were pawing and pushing at her, bruises forming on her delicate skin beneath their rough fingers.

"What?!" shrieked the goblin king as he wheeled around to face Calla, his face contorted with anger and his jelly like chin shaking with rage. "Dare you insult me girl?"

Calla clenched her jaw and looked straight into the king's bulging amber eyes, no fear held in her own chocolate irises, "You will never be half the king Thorin is. Not even half the man, you disgusting animal." She hissed, venom lacing every word she spat in his direction.

A wave of pride burned its way through each of the dwarves hearts at the halfling's bravery in the face of certain danger. Kili and Fili shared twin grins, as they watched her, that was the feisty Calla they knew and loved, not letting anyone push her around, no matter how much bigger than her they were, and the goblin king was certainly a formidable giant compared to her tiny and delicate frame.

"Kill her!" Shrieked the goblin king, waving a flabby arm in the air, his hard gaze trained on her beautiful face.

"No!" Shouted Kili as he tried once again to force himself through the crowd of goblins and dwarves, eager to reach Calla's side, all but her safety gone from his mind. A rank of goblin guards quickly surrounded the young prince, their blunt and weighted staffs smashing into the backs of his knees and his stomach, felling him with a moan of pain. A large and revoltingly moist foot was placed onto the back of his neck, restricting any movement, and forcing his eyes to remain on Calla as she was shoved onto her knees a few feet away from him. Tears ran down her cheeks in steady streams as she locked her dark gaze with Kili's, and she shot him the best smile of reassurance she could manage, as the armoured goblin behind her heaved a heavy and spike covered club high above his head, ready to deal her a fatal blow.

"I will give you anything you ask. Do not kill my kin. They are innocent." Thorin growled, pushing away from the goblins who held him and advancing towards the goblin king who had once again plonked his weight back into the foul throne. At the request he quirked a barely existing eyebrow and held up a pudgy hand, stilling the executioner.

"You will be of use to me anyway Thorin Oakenshield, I do not need your bribes. I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head, … just the head of course, nothing attached."

A murmur of discontent rumbled through the company, their eyes fixed firmly on the strong back of their leader as he stood his ground in silence.

"Perhaps you know of whom I speak? An old enemy of yours … A pale orc, astride a white warg ..."

"Azog the defiler was destroyed, he was slain in battle long ago." Hissed Thorin, pure anger wrapping itself around every syllable, his stormy blue eyes staring the goblin king down.

"Oh, you think his defiling days are done do you?" snorted the goblin king, a sickening chuckle escaping his throat. With a leering smile at the noble dwarf he turned to a weedy looking scribe that was hoisted in the air by a basket attached to a wire. "Send word to the pale orc, … tell him I've found his prize."

An evil smile crossed the face of the goblin king as he turned back to the executioner above Calla, "Kill the girl." he commanded with a nasty chuckle, ignoring the yelling and sudden commotion that suddenly burst into life as the dwarves struggled in vain to get to their friend.

Kili lashed out at the leg that held him, only to be rewarded by a hard kick to the face. A sharp goblin toe nail slicing easily through the flesh of his cheek.

"Any last words?" snickered the goblin executioner, as he poised over the young red head.

"Yes," she whispered, her eyes scanning over the faces of each of the dwarves as she spoke, "Thank you all for giving me the most excitement of my life, and thank you all for your love and friendships. May my soul guide you through the rest of your journey." she sniffed back a barrage of tears as her eyes settled on the distraught face of Kili, his tear stained cheeks mirroring her own, as he gazed into her eyes. "Kili, I will always be with you. Keep a small space for me in your heart, and we will meet again in the grey havens. I will wait for you at the gates my love." She shot him a defiant smile, before closing her eyes, her face calm as she awaited the deathly blow.

Something inside of Kili broke as he watched Calla so bravely accept her fate. "I love you." he whispered, hoping she could hear his voice over the raucous.

A bright, blue white light shot through the mountain interior, muting all sounds and knocking everyone over, unable to move under the strength of the magic blast. Calla and the dwarves watched with wide eyes as a familiar tall figure emerged from the epicentre of the light, a crooked wizards high on the old man's head.

"Take up arms and fight!" Boomed Gandalf to his stunned friends who scrambled towards their weapons as fast as they were able. Calla, who had lost her bow when the goblins had stolen her from the ledge, thought quickly, ripping the spiked club from her felled executioner's grasp. The weapon was sorely heavy and she struggled to lift its weight at first, her muscles screeching in defiance. After a few hefty practice swings, she found the club easier to wield, bringing the spiked tip down onto the executioner's head, the rusty points piercing his helmet and the brute weight crushing the front of his already deformed skull.

A warm hand wrapped around her elbow, and she whirled around, readying to swing at her captor. Seeing it was only her dark haired prince she laughed a nervous giggle and threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace, her fingers burrowing into the snug fur lining of his coat.

"I thought I'd lost you, twice" chuckled the dwarf as he pressed quick, soft kisses into her hair line, relieved to just have her back in his arms.

"Kili, Calla, there is no time time for touching reunions … fight" commanded the wizard as he ran past them, Foe-hammer glittering in the fire light as it sliced through the goblins that charged towards him.

"We shall continue this later!" Calla giggled as she placed a quick kiss on Kili's lips before grabbing the hem of her tattered skirt and running into the fray, club raised above her her head and a mighty war cry leaving her throat.

"Yes we shall!" Kili grinned, turning when Fili shouted his name, throwing his sword to him. "Here goes" he breathed to himself, charging into the mass of goblins, swinging his sword wildly.

Angry that battle had commenced The goblin king roared and brought his skull topped staff down, ready to strike Thorin across the head, who quickly raised Orcrist, blocking the blow and earning a terrified shriek from the brute who stumbled backwards off of the pathway, taking a few of his subjects with him, "He wields the Biter!" his frightened yell rang through the mountain and his body descended to the depths below.

"Follow me!" Gandalf shouted, as he turned and ran down one of the pathways, cutting down the first wave of goblins who threw themselves at the company.

"Calla, take my hand!" shouted Fili, who had been fighting beside the half-ling, sheathing one of his dual swords he held one large hand out to her, which she gladly accepted as they followed the rest of the company down a rickety wooden bridge, their feet thundering loudly like war drums.

Looking over his shoulder at the female hobbit and blond prince, Bofur shot her a cheeky dimpled grin, "Glad to have you back lassie! We missed you!"

"I'm glad to be back!" She answered with a laugh, as she held her club out to the side, knocking over a line of goblins in her wake.

Ahead of them Dwalin roared as a small army dropped onto the path before him. Using his heavy metal axe he cut a barrier free and with the help of Gloin, Oin and Nori, used it as a battering ram, knocking the foul creatures clean off the path and into the darkness below.

Above Calla's head there was an audible whoosh as a goblin attempted and attack, but a broad a work calloused hand on the back of her head caused the young hobbit to duck, as Bifur speared the creature through the head with his boar pike. Helping her up, the old warrior smiled at her apologetically for his rough treatment of her, his voice muttering something in Khazdul.

"Bifur, you saved me. Thank you!" she whispered, knowing what he was saying without needing to understand him.

"Go! Go!" Commanded Thorin as he stood to the side, his company rushing by him. Calla watched over her shoulder as he took out the four goblins that descended on him with a single circular swing of his sword. Kili's warm hand filled her as he pulled her along, his touch alone making her feel invincible. "Cut the ropes!" their king's voice commanded as he ran free the platform. They cut the ropes free and the goblins behind them plunged into the inky blackness.

Kili used his body to shield Calla's as the pair ran towards an oncoming group of dwarf archers, raising his sword above his shoulders the prince deflected an arrow that flew towards him. The look of surprise on his handsome face gave away that this was a fluke but he continued to shield himself from a few more in the same manner.

"Alright, no need to show off Mr big dwarf prince!" Calla giggled as she quickly side stepped him and ran at the charging goblins, her club making short work of their manky green hides. He watched her as she ran ahead, his mouth opening slightly in amazement.

"Now, that's one hell of a woman!" Nori joked, clapping him on the back as he ran past.

Seeing a ladder ahead of him, Kili grabbed it and with a few helping hands used it to run some of their foes off of the path edge.

The company continued to run along the paths battling and killing any goblin that they came up against. Seeing they were all on one section of path Fili and Nori cut the suspending ropes, allowing the bridge they walked on to sway and fall away, cutting off any goblins that had taken to chasing them. As the section of bridge swung towards stable ground, Bofur wrapped his arms around Calla's waist, hoisting her up onto his shoulder before leaping from the platform, closely followed by Balin and Ori. They watched in horror as the bridge swung back to where it had started, a group of goblins eagerly taking the opportunity to board it. The remaining members of the company fought them off as the bridge swung back to safety, finally being cut free to fall into the blackness by Fili as he was last to jump onto safe ground.

On they continued, cutting down anyone who strayed into their path, Gandalf using his staff to strike the rock above, causing a boulder to roll down the slope ahead of the company, squishing any goblin in its wake.

A wave of relief flooded over everyone in the group as they came to a long stretch of pathway that was entirely goblin free. They had done it, they were finally safe.

Or at least that's what they thought, until a loud cracking and an eruption of wooden planks announced the arrival of the Goblin king as he heaved his body up onto the path, his eyes aflame with anger and his thin lips pulled back in a snarl.

Gandalf made his way to the front, staring down the vile monarch.

"You thought you could escape me!" he yelled, thrashing at the old wizard with his skull topped staff. "What are you going to do now, Wizard?" he mocked, putting his face close enough for his foul breath the ruffle the brim of Gandalf's tall hat.

Jabbing his staff upwards into the brute's eye, Gandalf slashed a deep, red gash into the creatures pot belly.

"That'll do it." wheezed the goblin king, surprised that he had been bested by a little old magic man.

With another quick swipe of Foe-hammer, Gandalf slit the goblin king's throat, his massive body falling onto the wooden planking, stone dead. An eerie splitting noise rang through the air as the bridge gave way beneath the sheer weight of the perished king.

The dwarves yelled in fright and gripped hold of the planks as they plummeted through the cavernous darkness. Fili and Kili, instinctively, grabbed hold of one another, making sure to sandwich Calla between their bodies, protecting and cushioning her for the fall. With a series of pained groans and a loud, wooden crunch the falling bridge with its dwarf cargo hit the the mountain floor. Calla looked to her right, seeing Fili trying to pull his legs free from the debris.

Turning to her left, she came nose to nose with Kili, who grinned at her playfully, his pearly white teeth shining even in the darkened cavern.

"Kili, we did it!" she whispered as she flexed her fingers below the plank, her digits seeking out his larger ones.

"Yeah, we did." he answered, his eyes lighting up in happiness, giving his already handsome look a boyish charm.

"Well that could have been worse!" called Bofur cheerily as he poked his head out of the wreckage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go lovely people! Sorry it took so long, a 4000 word half dissertation got in the way. but hopefully you all enjoy this chapter and are glad to see out favourite hobbit heroine back to being a bad ass! thank you all for you reviews etc! please keep them up! they really do keep my stories going! and woohoo! we surpassed 500 so, i'm glad to see people actually like it!
> 
> happy reading guys! please tell me what you think!
> 
> :)


	20. A lucky escape

"Well that could have been worse!" called Bofur cheerily as he poked his head out of the wreckage.

Calla rolled her eyes at the statement, knowing full well that once that accursed statement had been uttered, the powers that be would rise to the unspoken challenge, this was of course, one of those occasions as with a loud thump of splintering wood and a great weight crushed those still beneath the planks, the body of the Goblin king dropped onto the already stunned company.

A cacophony of moans and a growled exclamation of "You've got to be joking!" from Dwalin echoed through the mountain's base valley.

Calla winced, feeling her already battered and bruised limbs screaming at her from the now greatly increased pressure. She bit her bottom lip and scrunched her dainty nose up when she felt a piece of plank digging into her abdomen, squeezing her bladder like a puppy with a chew toy.

"Are you okay my love?" Kili whispered, as he braced himself against the broken wood trying to shove it away from their bodies with as much force as he could muster.

"I'm fine, I could just … do with using the bathroom right now. There's a bit of wood pressing on my bladder." She giggled sheepishly as she watched Kili struggle to find a suitable reply. Deciding against anything that popped into his head, the prince just pursed his lips and continued moving the wreckage away from Calla's body, freeing her enough for Fili to hook his hands beneath her arms and hoist her out onto her feet.

Straightening what was left of her dress, Calla looked around at the dwarves who had managed to pull themselves free, her dark eyes darting through the pack looking for Bilbo, her heart and stomach tightened when she found no trace of the once well-to-do hobbit. Her heart threatened to shatter in her chest and a burning tear welled in the corner of her eye, but a flame of hope still flickered faintly in the back of her mind, screaming at her that her brave cousin was still alive and fighting his way back to his friends, but she could no longer dwell on their missing member as a rather panicked Kili's voice rang out behind her.

"Uh, Gandalf!"

At the shout, all of the company looked up to where the young dwarf's eye line met what once had been a clear expanse of mountain wall, but now housed a swarm of goblins scaling the rock at a impressive speed.

"There's too many, we can't fight them!" called Dwalin, as he supported a rather dishevelled and dazed looking Nori. With one last hard tug of his booted foot, Kili pulled himself free, quickly moving to stand beside Calla and his brother who wore identical, concerned faces. Wanting to hold her and clear her mind of fear the youngest Durin heir enclosed his large hand around the red head's tiny one, his dark eyes flicking over the vast amount of damage that had befallen the tiny appendage.

"Only one thing will save us! Daylight! Come on!" Shouted Gandalf as he reached a wizened hand out to Oin, lifting the ageing dwarf to his feet with surprising ease. "On your feet, all of you. Run!" Using his lit staff, the wizard pointed towards a darkened corridor in the rock, at the end of which they could see the faintest glimmer a warm, red sunrise.

Calla ran between Kili and Fili, her feet carrying her little, damaged body as fast as they could, the effects of the all the wounds she had sustained since leaving the shire taking a toll on her as her bones started to ache, burn and throb at the exertion.

If there was one thing she had learned throughout their journey so far, it was that dwarves, as a race, are loud, in every way imaginable. Their voices and laughter boomed and echoed off of any surfaces around them, their heavy boots pounded like a blacksmith's hammer on an anvil as they walked, their movements making a rhythmic beat on any type of ground, they were even loud in their sleep, Bombur alone would have given her old Grandpa Took a run for his money when it came to snoring. But even over the raucous noise that surrounded her thirteen travelling companions, Calla's sensitive ears picked up a wholly different sound, a soft whimper that seemed to be coming from a crevice in the rock just ahead. Pausing in her movements and closing her eyes, the young half-ling tried to hone in on the noise. Hearing only the steady thump of dwarfish boots she opened her eyes and gazed at the crevice, a burning sensation tickling at the tips of her large pointy ears, almost as if she was being watched from the darkness.

"Come along Miss Took." Commanded Thorin as he brought up the rear of the group, his handsome face contorted into a stern frown and splattered with black goblin blood. He laid a large hand on the centre of her back propelling her forward towards the daylight that shone in from an opening of the rock face.

The company burst into a thicket of leafless trees, a tough amber moss covering the rocky ground, beneath their tired feet. Calla couldn't help but breath a sight of relief, letting a small smile grace her pink lips as she felt the morning sun beating down upon her skin, warming her to the very core. Screams a wails were heard from the mountain entrance as the goblins came up against the barriers of daylight, their skin instantly covering in large sun induced boils of burning mucus.

As a clearing appeared below them, the company started to slow their pace, catching their breath and giving their aching limbs a chance to regain some feeling. Gandalf stood to one side, counting each head that ran past him into the open area below.

"Fili, Kili … that makes ten, Bifur, Calla, and ah … Bombur, that's thirteen." He paused for a moment, his thick grey eyebrows dipping low in concern as he noted the fourteenth member of their group was missing. "Bilbo … Where is our burglar?" he asked, his old blue eyes searching the saddened faces of each dwarf as they looked around them, searching for the tiny waist coated man, until they reached Calla, who sniffed quietly, not even attempting to wipe away the stray tear that has started wind its way down her rosy cheek, as she intently studied her hairy feet.

"Curse the half-ling! Now he's lost!" grunted Dwalin, paying no mind to the Calla who had slumped onto the ground, using a tree to support her back as he tucked her knees up below her chin. Gandalf ignored the shouts that ensued around him, his attention wholly consumed by the young woman.

"I though he was with Dori!" someone accused loudly.

"Don't blame me!" snapped Dori in return his voice holding an unusual angry edge.

"Well when did you last see him?" Gandalf asked the three brothers who stood together, tearing his attention away from the tiny red head.

"I thought I saw him slip away, when they first collared us." Nori offered as he tried his hardest to smooth his hair and beard back into his trademark points.

"Well what happened exactly? Tell me!" demanded the old wizard as he rounded on the startled dwarf.

"I'll Tell you what happened." rang out Thorin's harsh baritone as he pushed Nori aside to confront the magic man, his blue eyes dark and stormy with a brewing anger. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it!" Calla looked up from her position nestled in the trees roots. Her watery eyes instantly flaming with anger as the harsh words left the king's mouth. "He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and warm fire since he first stepped out of his door." The female hobbit clenched her jaw and flexed her hands as she got to her feet, fighting the urge to hit the mighty dwarf as hard as she could until there was no strength left inside her. "We will not be seeing the hobbit again. He is long gone."

Calla had had enough as the last derogatory sentence left Thorin's noble mouth. Her people deserved more respect and thanks than he was giving them credit for. Stepping up closer to him she tapped the fallen king on the shoulder, making him look down at her, as she smiled sweetly up at him. "Excuse me your highness." she started her voice lilting, as she tried to remain calm. The larger man grunted down at her in expectation. Fili and Kili waited with baited breath, as they watched her expression change from sweetly innocent to a mask of pure fury. "We hobbits are simple people, and we enjoy our comforts. And yes we miss our nice cosy holes when we're trudging through mountains, grassy plains and snow, for a cause that is not our own no less, but it is our right to do so, as it is our HOME! Where we feel safe and contented. We did not need to leave our Shire to help you slay a dragon and reclaim your people's gold. We did not need to pledge to risk our lives for a people we do not know. We did it out of the good of our hearts, because you needed us, not the other way around. You have done nothing but pain and ridicule Bilbo since he signed your blasted contract. I would not blame him for returning home." her little body shook with anger and her dark eyes bore holes into Thorin, as he swallowed heavily, unprepared for the young woman's onslaught.

"But I haven't." Called a soft voice, accompanied by a rustle of leaves as the hobbit stepped out from around the tree Calla had been leaning against moments before. All the dwarves fixed him with relieved looks, as the young woman gasped, clasping a tiny hand over her mouth to cover a sob as she hurtled across the rocks, throwing her arms around his shoulders in a tight and loving embrace, her face buried into the crook of his neck as her cousin chuckled, quickly returning the hug. Pulling away from Calla, Bilbo fixed the uncrowned king with a hardened stare.

"Bilbo Baggins, I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life." chortled Gandalf with a fatherly smile one eye fixed on the waistcoat pocket into which Bilbo had just dropped the ring.

"Bilbo we'd given you up!" called Kili, a big grin stretching across his handsome face as he cuddled a now happily smiling Calla into his armoured chest.

"How on earth did you get passed the goblins?" asked Fili, a fine golden brown quirked in curiosity.

"How indeed." murmured Dwalin suspiciously from his place beside their leader.

Bilbo chuckled and raised his eyebrows, his fingers slipping into his pocket, the tips skimming the golden ring inside. His eyes locked onto Calla's curious gaze, an unspoken connection informing her that he would tell all, once they were alone and could speak freely. "What does it matter? He's back." she answered coolly, fixing Thorin with an even glare.

"It matters." he growled out, looking from one hobbit to the other. "I want to know. Why did you come back?"

Bilbo sighed and dug deep inside himself to find his tookish courage. "Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right … I often think of Bag end, I miss my books … and my armchair, and my garden … see that's where we belong." he gestured towards Calla with a soft smile, "That's home, and that's why I came back, because you don't have one, a home … it was taken from you … but I … we will help you take it back if we can."

And as smiles graced the faces of each dwarf, and Kili clutched Calla tighter into his chest, each brother placing a kiss into her crown of cherry curls, the strangest thing happened, Thorin son of Thrain, looked down at his boots, a humbled expression plastered over his regal features.

A deep animalistic growl rang out through the trees behind them, breaking up the emotional moment.

"RUN THEM DOWN! TEAR THEM TO PIECES!" shouted a deep voice in orcish, the words reverberating around the valley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely readers, I hope you enjoyed this one! thank you all for your updates. I have had some crazy shit go down in my household over the last couple of weeks so i'm afraid i've been distracted. so i hope its not too bad. Theres a poll on my profile concerning the end of this story ... so it's up to all of you whether this continues on by the book, or whether I wait til december to continue. so go give it a vote etc.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, please review etc! Happy reading!


	21. Azog pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, i'd like to thank you all for being so patient with me. this is the first half of a 2 parter, the second of which i will get out to you tomorrow night once i've finished work. i know you all feel like i've probably abandoned you, but some feed back and comments would be great! thank you all for reading you lovely people!

Calla's blood instantly cooled in her veins as the gruff bellow echoed through the trees, reaching the ears of the now wary dwarves. She held her breath, and gripped onto the supple leather of Kili's coat, her face buried into his neck, struggling in vain to hide herself away from the danger.

All the tiny red head wanted was one hour of peace. Just one. Since meeting this motley band of dwarves, she had been hung upside down, nearly bitten in half by a warg, fallen off of a cliff face and held captive by a kingdom of smelly green goblins who found it highly entertaining to gawk and stare at her, prodding the flesh of her arms and legs with their squelchy fingers. She thought she deserved at least one hour to catch her breath and give her aching limbs and sore wounds a rest.

"Just go away!" she muttered angrily, more to herself than actually projecting it towards the group of creatures that gathered above them unseen.

"What did you say?" Kili asked her, his voice hushed and full of tension, as his dark eyes flickered around the area.

"I just want one hour! Is that too much to bloody ask for?! I just want all the danger to go away for just one hour. I'm tired, I hurt all over and I just want to cuddle up by a fire. JUST FOR ONE HOUR!" She raised her voice at the end of her statement, as if trying to inform their adversaries that they were severely annoying her.

"Keep your voice down hobbit." Scowled Thorin, as he dropped low to the ground, his ear millimetres from the pine needle covered earth. He listened intently, trying to distinguish the sound of heavy foot falls through the rocky mountain edge. His face turned pale as he stood back up, turning to face his companions, his midnight eyes grave.

"They are coming." he growled, his tone reminding Calla of a cornered snake that was coiled and poised to strike at its hunter.

Loud howls sounded through the air accompanied by the steady thuds of paws against the dried out ground as the wargs and their deformed riders began to make their decent towards the company.

"Out of the frying pan ..." gruffed Thorin as he made eye contact with the grey wizard, who replied with a rushed hiss of "and into the fire … Run" although the old man's voice was low it was clearly an order, which was instantly heeded by those around him, the dwarves making their own way down the slope grabbing hold of their weapons as they went.

Calla held tightly to Kili's hand as the younger brother pulled her along behind him, occasionally shooting her a glance over his shoulder. She was grateful for the support, feeling her own legs and back begin to feel week, her joints wobbling and threatening to cave any second. Every muscle and every wound in her body screamed at her to give up and collapse onto the ground. She hung her head the best she could, allowing herself to be pulled along by the much stronger man.

She looked over her shoulder watching the snarling black animals darting their way through the thick trees behind them, missing the upturned tree root until it was too late, and she hit the ground hard, letting go of Kili's hand to grip her ankle which had twisted and was quickly turning an alarming shade of blue.

"Calla!" Kili shouted when he could no longer feel her dainty fingers in the palm of his hand. His handsome face was etched with worry, dark brows knitting together as he raced towards her.

"My … My ankle!" she gasped, sucking in a huge lungful of air as she tried to her tears at bay. She had gone this long barely shedding a tear, she was not going to start now.

"Come on baby, can you get up?" Kili asked hurriedly as he crouched beside her, his eyes constantly flickering between his wounded love and the wargs that were getting dangerously close to them. Calla tried pressing a small amount of weight onto the injured appendage, but whimpered instantly at the sharp pain that shot through her entire leg.

"Come on honey, you have to try again. For me." the dark haired prince practically begged, his eyes pleading with her own, and his lips set into a grim line.

She tried the movement again, but screamed loudly, feeling the fragile limb twist uncontrollably. "I … I … I can't!" she groaned through gritted teeth, tears pricking away at the corners of her eyes.

"Kili!" their leader shouted as he eyed the scene before him, fear for his nephew's life flaring up through his large chest.

"I'm going to have to carry you." the young prince whispered as he gathered the shivering red head up in his arms, hoping that he could both carry her and out run the wargs as the access to his weapons had now been cut off.

The pair made their way down the mountain side quickly catching up with the rest of the company. Calla felt an anger bubble up in the pit of her belly at the helplessness she was feeling. She was brave. She had taken on a great number of the goblins in the cave, she couldn't believe her body had given up on her, even though she knew it was beaten, bruised, tired and wounded.

She watched over Kili's shoulder as they ran past Bilbo, who was gliding down the mountain at quite a speed. Her heart stopped as she watched a large warg jump over her cousin's head, facing the hobbit down with its slobbery jaws bared. "Put me down." She said in Kili's ear, earning a shocked look from the prince. "Please Kili, put me down." she tried again, wriggling around slightly in the dwarf's arms. He obeyed, lowering her onto the floor quickly, where she drew in a deep breath and bit back a scream. Ignoring her pain she grabbed Kili's dagger from his belt and hobbled back up the slope to where Bilbo was now pinned against the trunk of a large tree. "Go. Before Thorin has a heart attack. We'll be fine." She urged Kili, her voice raised loud enough to reach his sensitive ears.

Bilbo gulped as he watched the snarling beast advancing on him, its foul breath permeating the air and making him want to gag. His clammy hands gripped the hilt of his little sword, as if only just remembering he had the weapon, he thrust it out in front of him, piercing through the skull of the warg, making it go limp, with his sword still buried in its head. He certainly wasn't expecting, when the creature rolled onto it side, to find Calla clinging onto its matted fur, a dagger in one hand and her hair and face coated in the warg's blood like some strange form of war paint.

Calla smiled up at Bilbo's astonished face weakly, biting back another wince of pain as she got to her feet.

"But your ankle, I saw you were hurt." he asked as he grabbed her hand, worry lighting in his deep eyes.

"I am." She started shoving a piece of hair from her face, as it began to cling to her skin with blood. "But I couldn't see my favourite cousin get hurt now could I?" she winced as the pair picked up the pace, hearing Gandalf yell for everyone to get into the trees, as they careened onto the mountain's ledge.

One by one, the dwarves swung themselves up into the boughs of the pine trees surrounding the ledge, gripping onto the branches tightly. Each one certain their journey was going to end here.

"Go, Bilbo, up with Dori!" The tiny red head called as she watched the older dwarf lean a hand out of his tree to help the Hobbit up. Bilbo half scrambled, half hoisted himself into the tree, watching as his cousin still limped about on the ground below.

"Calla!" shouted Kili as she neared the base of the tree he and his brother were hiding in. "Up here!"

"I can't climb! I can barely walk!" she shouted back her tone a little venomous, but the words simply rolled off the prince's back as he nodded to his brother who was perched on a lower branch.

Careful to not get his moustache braids or hair in his eyes, Fili climbed down a few boughs and locked his knees around a branch, turning himself upside down and grabbing Calla in a firm hold around the waist, where he lifted her high enough for Kili to pull her the rest of the way.

Just in time, as a wild eyed warg started snapping at his blond mane, Fili deftly raised his body almost performing a somersault onto the branch above him, safely out of the way of snapping jaws.

"What?" the elder brother asked Calla, his voice filled with mirth, his demeanour showing the small hobbit that his sudden act of agility was nothing new to him.

"How? How did you … you're a dwarf … you're not exactly … light as a feather ..." she struggled to both find the right words for what she was trying to express without hurting the feelings of her dear friend. He raised a golden eyebrow at her and smirked up as his baby brother, who was watching the exchange with a half smile.

"We're surprisingly quick, and bendy." Kili said simply, using all of his best balancing skills to stay upright, his back pressed firmly into the knotted ridges of the tree's trunk.

Calla opened her mouth to reply to the brothers when something orange and fluttery brushed past the tip of her button nose. "a butterfly?" she whispered to herself in confusion as she watched the beautiful amber insect swoop its way through their group and away into the air above. "In a situation this ugly, at least there's something beautiful." she murmured, trying to spot the flame coloured wings between the trees, but the butterfly was gone.

A clammy stillness filled the air as a particularly menacing set of paw-steps made their way to the base of the company's leafy refuge. This creature was unlike all of the other snarling wolves, he was almost regal looking, his fur a pearly white that almost glowed in the moonlight that bathed it. Sat upon the beast's back was a orc, larger than any Calla had seen so far along the journey, his bare chest and arms rippled with muscle, the skin coated in faint pink scars from battles long since passed. But the scars, or the orc's intimidating appearance was not what caught the hobbit's eye. It was his arm, an arm that was sliced off at the elbow, vicious scarring marring the flesh there, and where a hand should be was a sharpened weapon, the black metal glinting ominously.

The creature flashed an evil smile, his brow dipping low as his eyes settled on the fallen dwarf king.

"Azog!" Thorin and Calla both whispered in shock.


	22. Azog pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all you lovely people! this is the 2nd part of the Azog chapter! I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think! I'm all ears! thank you for reviewing for those who have, I'm very grateful. Hopefully the next chapter will be up shortly! :) big love to you all. x

Calla's mouth went horribly dry as her gaze too settled on the astounded face of their leader. His own heavy brow lowered, and broad chest heaving with anger filled breaths. She was aware that the brothers had also grown impossibly still around her, their faces concerned masks as they watched their uncle, praying to Mahal that he would stay in his tree.

The deadly tension filled the area, the feeling so thick that it could have been cut with a butter knife, the atmosphere making the entire company fidget and squirm uncomfortably. Gandalf the grey was the only member who seemed to still have hold of his senses as he plucked a fir cone from the tree that had become his hiding place, whispering a incantation in his husky old voice he held the tip of his staff to the cone's shell, a small flame began to ignite and soon engulfed the entire seed in a ball of hot, orange flames. With an almighty throw the old man hurled the fir cone to the ground, it landed in amongst a group of wargs who howled in displeasure and pain, quickly retreating from the small fire ball with their tails between their legs. Pleased with the result he had achieved, the grey wizard began to light several more fir cones, throwing them to the dwarves around him who quickly cottoned on to his idea.

"Fili!" Gandalf yelled as he hurled a flaming cone in the blond's direction, who deftly caught it, juggling it back and forth between his hands as Calla and Kili both grabbed cones of their own, using Fili's as an ignition point. In a trio of battle cries they threw their burning cargo to the ground below them, the fire quickly spreading through the dry brush and grass that covered the mountainside.

Howls of pain and fear rang through the air as the wargs fled to a safe distance, their fur and tails becoming singed by the flames that relentlessly licked at them.

Even though the fast spreading fire struck fear into the hearts of the shaggy wargs and their deformed riders, their leader, the great Pale Orc stood strong, his lips pulled back to reveal a set of sharp pointed teeth. A bellowed roar sounded from his throat, shaking the trees and making Calla almost lose her balance on her branch, her fingers gripping desperately onto the knobbly bark.

Cheers rang through the air from the dwarves who were already celebrating a victory that had yet to be completely won. Calla chewed her lip nervously as she looked around her, Fili was chuckling, holding his sides where they hurt from the effort of his laughter, Kili was waving his arms in the air and cheering, a gesture that under any other circumstance the hobbit would have found incredibly adorable, but now she could feel something stirring, something bad, that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but whatever it was wasn't a cause for celebration.

With a resounding crack, the tree that they had been clinging onto started to give way, the roots coming free from the dry ground. A few yells were heard from the other trees and Calla realised it wasn't only their tree that was on its way down. There was a fumbling noise and Kili grabbed her hand gently in his free one, the other holding tightly to the branch above their heads.

"We're going to have to jump. We'll be warg food if we stay on here!" Fili yelled to his brother over the top of Calla's head.

"You ready?" Kili asked Calla, as they locked eyes and she offered him the bravest smile she could muster.

"As ready as I'm going to be!" she answered shakily, "One, two, three … now!" and with that the trio hurled themselves from the safety of their tree, their arms blindly reaching out for the lower boughs of the one Gandalf had perched himself in.

Unfortunately they were not the only ones to have this idea, and as each tree met the ground, more dwarves flooded the boughs of the giant fur.

'Oh gods, this is never going to hold!' Calla thought to herself as Thorin and Dwalin launched themselves onto the lower branches, making the once sturdy trunk shriek in protest. Bofur and Bombur were the last straw for the old evergreen as it creaked in defeat and started to fall, its roots rising up out of the ground in an enormous spray of dirt and fire.

A pair of strangled cries were heard from higher up the tree as Ori fell from his branch and over the edge of the cliff, using his eldest brother's boot as a support, pulling the frightened Dori with him. "Mr Gandalf!" cried the white haired dwarf as the wizard held out his staff for the siblings to cling on to.

A loud, blood curdling chuckle cut through the crackling of the fire and the dwarves' screams, reaching every ear and making all hearts skip a beat. Azog continued to laugh at the sight before him as he urged his steed forward closer to the stranded group. Calla watched in horror as Thorin, who was clinging to the trunk by her feet, turned his head to glare at his long forgotten enemy.

"No Thorin! No!" she begged at she watched the hulking dwarf prince stagger unsteadily to his feet, his large hands gripping the hilt of his sword and the handle of his oaken shield.

"Uncle! No!" the heirs of Durin begged, with tears of fright stinging their eyes, but Thorin ignored them all, his eyes set on the giant creature before him, Azog's pale blue eyes taunting him like a bully in the school playground. His boots made heavy thudding noises as he began to run down the length of the trunk, his face set in a determined grimace, and brandishing his blade in front of him, ignoring the flames that had begun to lick at the wood around his body.

Calla instantly felt sick as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. Yes the would be king could be arrogant, rude and unkind, but Calla knew he also had a heart and cared for his family and people, but right now that heart was no where to be found as his hatred and thirst for revenge ruled his head and heart.

Every member of the company momentarily stopped breathing as Thorin reached the very bottom of the tree, and as if it was almost in slow motion Azog reared his white warg off of the ground and charged towards the dwarf prince, a evil smirk plastered across his pale lips.

With a cry of pain the giant beast's back paw hit Thorin across the face as it leapt over him, causing a river of blood to trail from his nose and down his chin as the large dwarf's body hit the ground hard, but the pain was not enough to keep the exiled royal down, as he staggered to his feet, his eyes burning with a fierce anger that only his fellow warriors had witnessed before.

Azog turned his steed coming to face his prey once again, Thorin's face was coated in blood at the sight made the Pale Orc's heart sing.

Calla gripped onto her branch of the tree, wishing there was something, anything she could do to help their leader, but she had to remain, clinging to the wood, feeling weak and powerless.

Azog spurred his warg on and swung his mace, the heavy, metal weapon catching the prince heavily in the jaw, knocking him onto the ground once again with a pained grunt.

Sniffles and shouts of despair were heard from the mouths of every company member as they watched their fearless leader being pushed around like a rag doll, his blood smattering both the dusty earth and Azog's pearly skin.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and burned her sensitive flesh as she watched in horror as the great white warg fastened its teeth around Thorin's chest, the large fangs sinking their way through his layers of fur, mithril and leather, to pierce his skin below. A pained scream left the fallen prince's lips as his head went limp and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Calla remembered only too well the feeling of a warg's rancid breath beating down onto her skin as those nasty teeth embedded themselves through muscle and tissue, but she knew the bite she had received was from a smaller and a weaker warg than the one who was currently shaking Thorin like he was a giant chew toy, she knew this was no vicious nip that could be healed easily … if Thorin survived the trauma, it would take a lot of healing to get him back to even half his proper strength. She reached out and squeezed Kili's hand as the youngest prince let out a heartfelt sob, unable to tear his eyes away from his uncle as the warg threw him through the air, his body landing prone on a large rock.

Azog looked from the limp leader to his followers who were all shouting curses from their position hiding in the tree, Dwalin just hanging on where he'd scrambled to get to his prince, but failing when the branch below him snapped under his weight.

"Bring me the dwarf's head." Azog rasped out to one of his orcs that stood near by, a sharp, curved blade clutched in his nobbly hands.

Kili wailed in pain beside her and attempted to suppress a cry of sadness, his body sagging in grief. Calla watched him for a second, her heart instantly shattering into a thousand pieces at the terrible sight. Feeling a rush of adrenaline the tiny hobbit pushed herself up onto her feet and onto the trunk of their fallen tree, her dainty hand gripping at the handle of Kili's dagger that she had stolen earlier.

A firm grip on her shoulder made her gasp and turn around. Bilbo stood behind her, his ash covered face as determined as her own. No words were exchanged between the pair, just a curt nod as Bilbo drew his own sword. Together they ran down the trunk and launched themselves into the fray of wargs, orcs and smoke.

The shouts and cries of the dwarves getting louder as they watched their two small friends become swallowed by the fire and smoke.

Thorin had slightly come around and tried valiantly to reach Orcrist that had fallen out of his reach, unable to stop the advancing orc executioner who was leering down at him, blade raised. The prince gazed up at the creature, ready to accept his fate, when yells were heard and the executioner was knocked aside by a blur of hobbits. Thorin managed to keep his eyes trained on the pair long enough to see Bilbo drive his sword through the skull of the executioner and Calla throw herself at Azog, using the white warg's face as a ladder, before his eyes rolled back and sleep encompassed him once again.

Azog leered down at the small woman who was now stood in front of him, a dagger aimed at his chest. "What are you going to do girl?" he howled with laughter, his blue eyes staring her down.

"No one! And I mean no one hurts my family and friends? Do you hear me? You great white oaf?" Calla hissed as she lunged towards the pale orc's chest. Her blade buried itself deep within his shoulder with a loud squelch, and the giant roared with pain and laughter.

"And why should I be scared of a little thing like you?" he chortled as he ripped the dagger from his flesh.

"Small things can often be the most deadly." she answered with a grin, as she shoved a finger into the dagger hole in his shoulder, using the tiny appendage to pull and twist at the wounded muscle.

Azog screeched and flailed around trying to toss the girl from his body, but Calla clung on.

Yells and clashes of metal on metal sounded throughout the plain as the other dwarves made their way into the mini battle, stabbing wargs and slicing the heads off of orcs.

Azog, not being able to take the pain in his shoulder any more, brought his mace up, hitting Calla in the back, instantly winding the little hobbit and knocking her onto the ground, where she wheezed and tried to get back on her feet. "And now, I shall kill you girl." hissed the injured orc as he swung his mace down in an attempt to knock her pretty head from her shoulders.

But the fatal blow never came, as a cacophony of screeches and the gusty flapping of giant wings filled the area. A large eagle circled over head, flapping his wings at the pale orc, and using his talons to pick Calla up and settle her on his feathered back, stopping only to place Bilbo beside her before flying away into the night, quickly followed by a group of eagles all of whom held at least one member of the company.

Calla's back ached from the assault of Azog's mace, but even the pain wasn't enough to stop her admiring the view of middle earth as they soared through the air, high above the trees. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked Bilbo in awe, her voice a breathy whisper.

"It certainly is." Biblo agreed, squeezing his cousin's hand gently, as she looked over the other eagles trying to find her prince. "They're there." Bilbo whispered to her knowingly as he pointed down to an eagle flying below them, the Durin heirs clinging to one another on its back.

"Thorin!" yelled Fili, his voice waterlogged as everyone's eyes turned to the limp figure that was clutched in the talons of a eagle far ahead of them.

The sun was beginning to rise with the warmth of morning when the eagles began to circle around a large, prominent rock formation. One by one every member of the company was dropped onto the ledge gently by their feathery rescuers.

Calla ran to Kili as soon as her feet touched the solid stone, her heart beating wildly in her chest. The dark haired prince shot her a wide happy grin, even though his eyes still spoke of great sadness. He wrapped his arms around he waist and lifted her off the floor, their lips connecting in a hungry and passionate kiss. Her thumbs grazed over his stubble and she kissed his high cheekbone.

"The Hobbits?" she heard a gruff voice from behind her, and Kili lowered her onto the ground, allowing the red head to see the wounded prince who was struggling to his feet with the aid of Fili. His dark blue eyes shifted between Calla and Bilbo, his lips drawn into a scowl.

"What did you think you were doing? You nearly got yourselves killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild? And that you had no place amongst us?!"

Bilbo looked at his large, hairy feet sadly, sure that even his brave deeds had not won the dwarf prince's trust, where as Calla's blood just boiled at the comment, her rosebud lips starting to curl angrily as she prepared herself to say something to him.

"I have never been so wrong in all my life." the words, even though still uttered in a gruff tone were accompanied by a smile, and the large dwarf's eyes no longer seemed so hard as he staggered forward, enveloping both halflings in a tight bear hug, almost suffocating them with his fur collar. Both Bilbo and Calla laughed loudly and accepted the hug, wrapping their arms around his wounded torso.

Cheers and laughs surrounded them as all the other dwarves hugged and clapped each other on the shoulders.

"Im sorry I doubted you." Thorin said as he stepped back, the words directed at Bilbo.

"No, I would have doubted me too." said the hobbit sheepishly.

"I wouldn't have!" Calla laughed, giving her cousin an affectionate nudge with her shoulder.

With loud and happy squawks the eagles took their leave flying away into the sunrise, leaving the company alone on the ledge.

Thorin's eyes focused on something in the distance and made his way towards the rock's tip, the rest of the dwarves following behind him to get a better look at what had distracted their king.

"Is that? ..." Calla asked as she pointed to a solitary mountain on the horizon.

"Erebor … The lonely mountain." confirmed Gandalf in a booming voice.

"Our Home …" whispered Thorin as he smiled at the far away peak.


	23. Feathery new friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, A giant welcome to you all. Here is the newest part of Calla's adventure, i know its not all that full of action or romance - but it is a filler chapter as the next one with involve the journey down the carrock and Beorn, so I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you all for your support and for your review! please, keep them coming ... anyway ... enjoy you lovely people!

"Erebor … The lonely mountain." confirmed Gandalf in a booming voice.

"Our Home …" whispered Thorin as he smiled at the far away peak.

Calla drew in a breath as her eyes scanned the picturesque landscape before her, the lush canopy of green trees, the glistening blue ribbon of a river, and there, in the distance stood the lonely mountain, its purpling rocky shoulders standing out against the stark blue sky. The sight truly was enough to knock the wind out of her lungs and ignite a spark of hope and happiness in the pit of her stomach, as a happy smile twitched at the corners of her lips.

Warmth enveloped her waist as Kili enclosed his strong arms around her in a protective embrace, his chin nestled into the top of her curls, and his thumb occasionally stroking over the flesh of her hand as she entwined her fingers with his. The group stood for what felt like an eternity basking in the face of their end goal, each member remembering key moments from the journey so far.

A light chirruping sounded through the air as a small, brown bird weaved its way through the company, its tiny wings barely missing the large brim of Gandalf's hat as its flew into the distance, its merry tune carrying away on the wind.

"A Raven! The birds are returning to the mountain!" Cried Oin, a little over excited for a dwarf of his age and stature, but everyone understood his eagerness, the prophecy was coming true.

"That my dear Oin, was a thrush." Corrected the wizard as he smiled down at the dwarf healer, his old eyes crinkling in amusement.

"Well, We'll take it as a sign, a good omen." breathed the Thorin, as he smiled down at Bilbo and Calla, his features becoming instantly softer with the change of expression.

"You're right." Agreed Bilbo, nodding his head contentedly, hooking his thumbs beneath the straps of his braces, and rocking slightly on his bare heels, "I do believe the worst is behind us."

Calla giggled and rolled her eyes, her cousin was the most easily swayed person she'd ever met. "If you have just jinxed us Bilbo Baggins, I will happily see you sold to a passing troll for their stew." the hobbit visibly paled, his eyes going as wide as dinner plates as he stared at his cousin, but instantly relaxed as she burst out into a fit of giggles, Fili and Kili joining in with the mirth.

"Uhm, Mister Gandalf?" questioned Ori, as he nibbled on his bottom lip and twisted his leather bound journal around nervously in his hands. "How are we to get down from here? Its very high."

"An excellent point my young fellow. It does seem we are in a quite difficult position." Agreed Gandalf as his old eyes scoured their surroundings for a way down from the rocky ledge. Many of the dwarves took this opportunity to lean over the edge, grumbling to themselves grumpily.

"What about the eagles?" Calla asked thoughtfully, turning her gaze up to the tall wizard, who nodded, his brow creasing in thought.

"A fair suggestion Miss Took." he fiddled with the tip of his beard absent-mindedly, "But I fear they may have gone out of their way for us already."

The tiny redhead shrugged her shoulders in recognition of the old man's statement, "all we can do is ask, no one ever got anywhere without asking."

"Fine words indeed my lady, I will see what can be done to help our current … situation. But for now I suggest we make ourselves comfortable. Get any wounds you may have sustained tended to. We will all need our strength for the coming journey ahead."

"We have something now to hope for." Gruffed Thorin, as he continued to stare out over the plains, his eyes burning with a fierce fire that his body was lacking as his large frame started to sag and waver with fatigue. Quick as a flash the would-be-king's nephews were by his side, each supporting his bulk by hoisting him between them.

"Come on uncle, you need to rest." Fili said affectionately as they began to lead their father figure back towards the area their little group had decided to seat themselves in.

"Calla? Are you coming?" Kili asked as he peeked over his shoulder to look at her, "You need to get Oin to look at that ankle."

She shot him a soft smile and waved her dainty fingers at him in a dismissing gesture, "I will be there soon. I want to stay with Gandalf and speak with the eagles."

The younger Durin heir nodded and continued on with his task, making sure that his uncle was propped comfortably against a long dead tree trunk.

When they were alone, a little way from the rest of the company Calla felt free enough to ask the grey wizard the question that had been boiling through her brain, "You called them didn't you?"

"What was that dear?" Gandalf asked, a jovial twinkle in his eye as he regarded the tiny red head who was, by some miracle, still standing after the damage her now swollen and purple ankle had sustained.

"Don't play coy with me, old man. That was either impeccable timing and luck, orchestrated by someone with power. And seeing as we've had precious little in the way of luck … I see no other conclusion."

"How observant of you, young Took. I do indeed know the Eagle lord of old. And they were more than willing to produce aid to an old friend."

Loud woosh-ing sounds filled the air as three large eagles started to glide towards them, their giant wings making even the canopy of trees rustle loudly. "They really are beautiful creatures." Calla marvelled quietly as the came to rest before them, huge yellow talons gripping into the stone, and their haunting golden eyes fixed on the figures of the wizard and his hobbit companion.

"Greetings Mithrandir," boomed the eagle at the head of the trio, his feathers were coal black, with the odd smattering of white around his eyes and the tips of his wings, giving him a very distinguished and wise appearance. "It had been a long while since you strayed into the realms of our territory. Well met."

"Well met indeed my old friend. And I am grateful for your timely arrival. My friends and I were facing almost certain death." Gandalf replied, his voice kept in a hushed tone, so as to not disturb the group that sat not too far off.

"Almost? Ori and Dori were dangling off the cliff edge." Calla commented, her eyes never leaving the golden orbs of the majestic eagle, that were now fixed on her tiny frame.

"Ahh, the brave one who threw herself at the pale orc. Greetings my lady, I am Gwaihir, Lord of the eagles." he inclined his head in what Calla took to be the giant bird form of a bow. She just stared at him for a few seconds longer before remembering her manners, bending her legs as much as she could into a curtsy without causing further damage to her injured ankle.

"A pleasure to meet you my lord. I am Calla Took … of the Shire … and I am most grateful for your timely rescue."

The giant bird ruffled his feathers and puffed out his mighty chest, his heart swelling at the words of gratitude.

"I'm afraid we must ask more of you my old friend." Gandalf asked quietly, his stone coloured eyes fixed on the eagle's gold ones. The large creature dipped its head gracefully, allowing the old man to continue his question unhindered. "We are making our way towards The lonely mountain. Would you and your people be obliged to aid us further by taking us on ahead?"

Gwaihir ruffled his feathers again and scratched agitatedly at the ground beneath his feet. "We will take you as far as we dare. The men, they do not take kindly to us flying over their stone cities. They believe us to be thieves, preying on their sheep and cattle. I will not risk my kin in this manner. But we will take you as far as we can in safety."

"That is most gracious of you my old friend. Our company will be both grateful and relieved." Gandalf nodded with a wide smile, causing the lines in his leathery skin to deepen with mirth.

Calla felt her heart soar, upon hearing the eagle's ascent. A large grin spread across her bloodied face, but the joyous expression quickly faded as a pang of hunger rippled through her belly with a loud rumble. She quickly hugged her arms around her waist and glanced at the regal bird apologetically, but all his eyes seemed to do was glitter with humour.

"And we will continue to provide our services" he spoke quieter this time, his gaze glued to Calla, until he turned his head to address one of his companions, "Belleram, our new found friends will need fire wood and food. See what further aid we can provide."

In a flurry of wind and chestnut feathers, Belleram swept into a low bow before taking off into the horizon.

****

As night fell over the rocky outcrop, the sounds of a roaring fire split through the air, accompanied by the appetising aroma of roasting meat. The dwarves sat huddled together, talking in hushed tones as their leader slept, Oin's poultices helping to hurry along his healing process.

Calla herself had a thick layer of the herbal smelling cream coating her ankle and various other wounds that had needed their healer's dire attention. The heady smell was overwhelming and she buried her face into Kili's chest as she reclined into him, her nose appreciating the scent of spice and leather that was her dwarf prince.

Kili ran his fingers through her tangled mass of crimson curls as she nuzzled further into his chest, trying his hardest not to giggle when her shuffling feet caught his elder brother, who had become her foot rest, smartly in the kneecap eliciting a grunted curse in Khazdul from the blonde. He was truly happy his little half-ling was back in their company, where she belonged, and more importantly at his side.

A warm flush of pride had shot through his entire body as he had watched the hobbit cousins throw themselves at Azog and his minions in defence of his wounded uncle. But the feeling was of course quickly over taken by the bubbling fear that there was a chance he was going to lose her again, and that feeling made his throat dry up and his stomach churn.

"Its nice to be back with you smelly lot." Calla joked as she let her dark eyes scan across the faces of their companions, their expressions relaxed and happy, emotions that had been awry since their brief stop in Rivendell.

Kili chuckled, his chest rumbling with the deep sound, and placed a soft kiss into her curls, "It's good to have you back."


	24. Friend or Foe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom baby! I'm back! Welcome back to all you wonderful people who have been awaiting the latest instalment of both the movie and this chapter. Once again I'm running along side the film rather than the book, so I can include those of you who have never read the book (though you should, its brilliance.). I will be trying to fit chapters in at the same time as juggling my job and 3 masters assignments that are due in in January, so please, if I'm running a bit late with an update, have patience. I promise I haven't forgotten you all. Once again all reviews and PM's are accepted and greatly encouraged … its nice to know there are actually people out there and I'm not just babbling to myself. So … without further stalling … please enjoy! :)

The pink light of sunset was leaking its way through the blue sky at the giant eagles dropped their precious cargo at the foot of a wooded copse. The thick trunks would serve as cover until the company could find their way and continue on to Mirkwood – the next leg of their journey.

A new mindset had enveloped the companions as they waved a farewell to their feathered friends, knowing they were closer to their goal, closer to home.

Calla had a mix of feelings when it came to this notion, what did the end mean for her? She would be happy to see the dwarves restored to their former glory, lavished and layered in gold, she might feel a pinch of pride even, for helping them succeed in their task. But was that to be it? All her adventuring done? Would she and Bilbo return to their cosy holes under the hill and only relive the journey through stories told to their children and grandchildren as they were tucked into their beds at night? Would they return to indulge in the luxury the lonely mountain had to offer in their old age? And what of her friends? Thorin would be a mighty king, sworn to care for and watch over his subjects and Fili would be trained to sit beside him, born to share his uncle's birth-rite.

And what of Kili? Would he still look at her with adoration as he stood beside that throne, his bow swapped for a crown? Would he want her to stay? Would Thorin even let them be together? Maybe he would find love in the arms of one of his own race in order to keep the line of Durin strong and pure.

"What's the matter?" Kili's hushed whisper in her ear jerked the petite red head from her musings, her bottom lip stung from the unconscious chewing it had suffered in her thoughtful state. The dwarf prince had wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder, their cheeks so close she could feel his stubble graze across the soft flesh of her cheeks.

"Hmm?" She asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground as she wiggled her toes, the bare digits rustling a few fallen leaves. She wouldn't plague Kili with her maudlin thoughts, he deserved to be happy and full of excitement at their progression.

"You looked like you were thinking. You were biting your lip and you had that little crease between your brows that you get when deep in thought." His thumb started to circle a soothing rhythm on the exposed skin of her hand, a surprisingly gentle action consider the size of dwarves' hands.

"It's nothing ... really Kili, I was just thinking of what lies ahead of us." it wasn't a lie, but she still felt a twinge of guilt tugging at the pit of her stomach. Kili seemed satisfied with her answer, kissing her cheek briefly before releasing her and going over to his brother who was examining some tracks that had been left in the sludge just off track, they discussed the print in hushed tones.

Calla saw an opportunity to spend some time with Ori, who was sitting cross legged in the middle of the path, his note book open in his lap as he scribbled away fiercely on the parchment pages. She had just reached the company's youngest member when she heard her name being called, or rather whispered.

Bilbo, for it was he who had called her, was kneeling not too far away; peeking over the top of a large jutting rock that had a perfect view of the open plain before them. His eyes were fixed on a large black shape in the distance as he beckoned his cousin over to his side.

"What ..." Calla began but was immediately hushed as Bilbo placed a finger to his lips and jerked his head in the direction of the creature that was silhouetted against the purpling sky. "Is that a bear? It's enormous!" She gasped, her voice kept low in her throat as she watched the animal paw at the rocky out crop it was standing on.

"I think so, but how has it slipped past the orcs and wargs?"

The large black creature reared onto its hind legs, its roar ruffling the leaves around them.

"I say we go double back!" Bofur chimed into the conversation between Thorin and Gandalf. Both the would-be king and wizard stared him down disapprovingly, eyebrows knitted together.

"And get run down by Orcs?"

The cheery dwarf's demeanour quieted for a moment his brow furrowing and his eyes narrowing in thought.

"There is … a house" Gandalf drawled, as if the information was reluctant to slip from his tongue.

"Who's house?" Thorin's tone was incredulous as he stared the old man down, blue eyes as cold as steel. Gandalf grumbled in response, his cheeks puffing out in a laboured sigh. "Friend or Foe?" The high prince asked, his voice full of suspicion and his tone low.

"Neither" The wizened magic man breathed, ears pricked and trying to pick up the familiar sounds. As another fierce roar cut through the air all the colour drained from his face,

"What was that?" asked Nori, firmly gripping his axe by the hilt.

"It was a b..." Bilbo started, stuttering nervously as he watched the tree line over his shoulder,

"A bear?" Asked Gandalf tentitively. "We must make haste!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that it's so short all, butI wanted everyone to know that I'm back and will be so in force, however I still have about 7000 words I need to write in a fortnight … so your patience is appreciated! Cookies and cupcakes all round. Have a happy new year!


	25. Compliments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all you lovely readers! I am pleased to announce to you all that I'm almost completely back. 2 out of 3 assignments handed in ... so this is a celebratory chapter almost! I just want to welcome new readers and thank all my followers that have been with me since the start.
> 
> I know by the end of this most of you will be out to get me ... but there is a reason I have left it the way it is. I like my readers to have input on how my stories continue, so ... please don't hate me too much. Check out the author's note at the bottom and let me know your thoughts, I'll write according to the majority vote.
> 
> Anyway, Happy reading people! I hope you enjoy it!

'Always running.' Calla thought as she tried to keep pace with the stampede of dwarves as they ran towards a large row of green hedges that towered in the distance. 'Do dwarves ever walk anywhere?' After spending months in their company she should have known the answer to her question. No dwarves didn't walk ... they stomped maybe at a pace that could be considered walking, but their heavy boots weighed them down greatly.

The two hobbits were lagging behind the speeding herd, the soles of their bare feet cut and sore from the adventure's exertions. Looking back over her shoulder, Calla could make out the blur that was the big, black bare hot in their tail, his breath came out in hot puffs that the red head could almost feel coating her skin with its tacky moisture.

"Bilbo! Calla! Keep up!" Thorin called from the front, the barest of glimpses being sent their way as he broke through the tree line with Gandalf in tow, the pair hauled open a set of intricate wooden gates, allowing safe passage for the rest of the company as they broke through the threshold moments after.

Calla could feel her cheeks flushing red and her lungs burning as she gulped for air, pushing her petite legs as fast as she could. Ahead of them Fili and Kili looked at each other, a nod signalled an agreement that only two so close could establish without using words, and they stopped, waiting for the two halflings to catch up to them.

"Kili what are you doing! We're supposed to be getting away from the bear, not nearly becoming his dinner!" Calla scolded when she caught up with the young prince, who grinned and swept her off of her feet, carrying her the rest of the way, one hand supporting her back and the other cradling the bend of her knees. Watching over his shoulder Calla observed Fili kneel to the ground, allowing Bilbo to hop onto his back.

The group hurtled through a giant set of beech doors, only allowing their eyes to be drawn to the sheer size of the wooden cabin and its furniture for a mere second before trying to slam the door closed, a large black and pink snout barring their way. The bear's mouth was open, its large fang like incisors dripping globules of foul smelling saliva onto the floorboards. Calla wrinkled her nose, but continued to help her friends slam the doors closed on the intruding muzzle.

Eventually the panels were closed and the creature retreated into the night its howling loud as it made its way back through the forest, nose to the ground and chasing the scent of orc.

The company took a short while to explore the house, murmurs of its size spread through the group quickly. Ori sat on a step watching the others as they milled and joked about, Thorin, Balin and Gandalf murmuring quietly in the corner, Bofur and Bombur working together to look through the enormous pantry. Small giggles escaped his throat as he watched Fili, Kili and Nori all attempting to clamber up onto the giant chair at the head of an equally large table. None of the three were particularly successful and one by one landed in a pile on the floor.

"You don't want to join in with them Ori?" Calla asked softly as she perched herself beside him, her eyes also trained on the group's three troublemakers. The youngest dwarf shook his head sheepishly, "Dori would never let me, he says I'm too fragile for dangerous things."

Calla raised her eyebrows at the statement, if the eldest of the three siblings was that concerned about his baby brother being in the path of danger, they should have left him in the blue hills, where he could have remained scar free and safe in his beloved library.

"What's life without a bit of danger?" she asked him, the corner of her lips tugging up into a smile as a plan formed in her mind.

"Safe?" Ori answered meekly, wringing his mittened hands together. He really was too young for a quest like this, that could spell the death of every one of the company's members, but he was the only scholar among them and was there for the sole purpose of recording the journey.

"Well yes, safe, but I was more thinking … boring. Come on." She encouraged, holding her dainty hand out to him when she rose to her feet. He looked at her with wide eyes, mouth opening and closing like a fish trying desperately to gasp air.

Ori turned his eyes towards the trio who were still trying to get up on the the chair, Kili half on the seat with one booted foot using his brother's head as a stepping stone. Fili needless to say, did not look impressed, his golden eyebrows dipped in annoyance.

Calla seeing his unsure look laughed quietly and shook her head at him. "No, don't worry we're not going to join in with those idiots. We'll have our own little adventure, you and me. There has to be books around here somewhere."

Relief visibly washed through the dwarf at her works and he offered her a smile, his cheeks dimpling adorably. Taking her hand, the pair of them headed down the steps, aiming for another large door at the back of the room.

Calla paused and looked over her shoulder when she heard Kili calling to her excitedly from the top of the chair where he had finally managed to pull himself onto the seat, without a thought to how he was going to get down again. She grinned at the sight and waved at him, blowing him a kiss which made all the dwarves around wolf whistle and his cheeks turn a shade of crimson.

The hobbit and Ori carried on their quest for books, finally finding a library behind the far door, accompanied by a large fire that was still burning in the grate and a huge, but comfortable looking arm chair. Each grabbing a book down from the lowest shelf (the only ones they could really reach) they perched themselves in front of the warming flames, with their backs to the armchair, a large patchwork blanket (that Calla had rather skilfully whipped off of the chair) wrapped around them.

****

The occupants of the wooden house had calmed after a few hours, only the lowered tones of murmurs drifted their way through the building, accompanied by the rustling of footsteps and snores.

Calla was still in the library, the half finished book open in one hand, the other draped around Ori's shoulder as he leaned his head against her, snuffling little snores leaving his lips as he napped against her, his own book lying on the ground long forgotten. The flames within the grate had started to die, having eaten their way through the pile of logs that served as its fuel, but the remaining warmth still enveloped the female hobbit. It reminded her of home, reading in front of a nice warm fire with a cup of blackberry tea and a slice of lemon drizzle cake. Her stomach rumbled as she thought about the cake, but the journey so far had taught her to push the pangs of hunger aside.

The creaking of the large door caught Calla's attention and she looked over her shoulder, peering around the large arm chair. Kili and Fili tiptoed their way into the room as silently as they could muster, which was still ten times the volume that Calla herself, or Bilbo would have made. The princes smiled as they reached her spot, plonking themselves down onto the ground.

"Everyone's been looking for you." Fili started, a concerned tone lacing his voice. He was fidgeting with the straps on his boots.

"I've been here the whole time. Did no one think to open the door?" She asked, raising an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"Ok, well not everyone, we were looking for you though" Kili answered taking her free hand in his and playing with her dainty fingers.

"You didn't look very hard then did you." She snorted, "I bet Dori nearly had a heart attack when he realised Ori was gone."

"Yeah that's why I'm here actually; I should take him back to the old fuss pot." Fili grinned jovially, nudging the youngest dwarf out of his slumber. Ori opened his bleary eyes and tried to focus on the golden haired prince. "Come on Ori, mother hen wants you back under his wing." and he helped him up, wrapping an arm around Ori's back as they headed to the doors.

"Good night you two." Calla called softly as she watched them leave, Fili only waving his hand above his head in silent acknowledgement.

Once they heard the door close behind the pair and they were alone Kili shuffled closer to Calla, wrapping himself into the warmth of the blanket and burying his nose deep into her curls. "How do you smell so good, after so long?" he whispered into her ear, his warm breath touching the skin and making it tingle.

"I take it that's a compliment?" She asked turning her face so that the tips of their noses were just touching.

"You'll never get anything but compliments from me." he breathed, his dark gaze fluttering down to her lips before meeting her eyes again.

Calla felt her heart beat speed up in her chest, the organ virtually slamming itself against her rib cage. "Is that right?"

Kili's lips twitched into his trademark grin, dimples lining his stubble covered cheeks. "A prince always keeps his word."

Both parties uttered breathy laughs at the statement, as Kili's hands left the blanket, closing themselves tightly around Calla's hips, pulling her body flush against his own, her fingers gliding up the exposed skin of his neck to bury themselves into his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so hopefully you don't all hate me for this ending! I now turn the continuation onto you guys, my lovely readers ... would you like me to carry on with a splash of citrus? or Keep their love and relationship as it is? I will write in accordance to whatever you ask of me, so comment away.


	26. Interrupted Passion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all you lovely and dedicated readers! thank you for your patience once again, I'm back in classes now so I'm juggling three projects once again as well as working on the cover and interior designs of my class's anthology. So I'm a busy lady, so I'm grateful for all of your support. The result of my question in the last chapter was a landslide … 8 – 4 in favour of the citric splash … so as promised this chapter will have a slice of lime. I know it's short, but it is solely the citric piece – I will continue the chapter once I've finished writing my assignment (only 3500 words to go) … So please enjoy and review, I will bake you all virtual cookies!

"I'll remind you of that for when you get bored of me." Calla breathed, her face nuzzled into the crest of his shoulder. Her lips faintly grazed across patch of throat that was exposed from the opening of his tunic. She lazily swiped her tongue across the erratic pulse that beat beneath the thin shield of flesh, ripping a husky moan from the depths of his chest as he leaned his head back against the chair, allowing her more access. Large hands gripped her hips and lifted her with ease, placing her in his lap.

"I could never get bored of you." he murmured, fingers listlessly playing with the flimsy material of her dress. He pushed lightly on her shoulders extending enough space between their bodies that he could look her in the eyes, his own showing nothing but devotion and an unspoken fragility.

"I near lost you Calla, twice. I couldn't even begin to think what my life would be like without you any more." his words were filled with a passion that touched the red head deep within her soul, butterflies exploded in her belly and she shied away from him, wanting to keep the hot tears that pricked at her eyes a secret.

"Hey, look at me." his command was sugar sweet and she found it impossible to resist, her tiny fingers gripped fistfuls of his tunic as she leaned into him, layering his cheeks, nose and lips with tiny butterfly kisses. "Don't you ever hide that pretty face from me. I've seen you at your worst remember. There's nothing about you that isn't beautiful."

"You are such a flatterer." she whispered into his ear as she playfully nipped at its lobe.

"I could write a list long enough to fill Erebor's great hall of all the things I ..."

Calla cut off his ramblings with a kiss, the contact was soft at first but deepened as she wound her fingers through the silky strands of his hair, her lips parted in an invitation and Kili willingly accepted, letting his tongue lave gently against hers. She let out a keen as he placed one hand on her tailbone, the other tangling in her hair as he lowered her onto the floor. She was aware of his body's pressure as he lay over her, one elbow braced on the wooden floor while his other hand caressed her cheek, their lips still connected in a heated exchange.

She exhaled a pleasured gasp as Kili's lips left her own, making their way down the exposed flesh of her throat and onto her collar bone. His fingers worked quickly, the digits nimbly finding the strings of her bodice and giving them a tug. The material submitted to him, revealing a deeper expanse of her pale chest. Her breasts pushed taught against their bindings with each heaving breath he pulled from her now quivering form.

"May I?" he asked cautiously, looking up at her with his large chocolate eyes as his fingers hovered over her under-bindings. Calla couldn't find her voice and answered with a nod, arching her back to give him a clearer route of access. She bit her lip in anticipation and bunched her hands in his dark locks as he started to pull at the fabric, his pace agonisingly slow.

"Kili, have you s … oh Mahal!" Bofur's shocked voice brought an abrupt halt the couple's amorous proceedings, both their faces flooded a deep red as they looked up at the toymaker, who stood in the doorway with his jaw basically scraping the floorboards.

"Bofur we ..." Calla spoke unsure how to explain the position they had been caught in. "We were just ..."

The elder dwarf just grinned and winked at the pair, a mischievous twinkle sparkling in his eye.

"Don't you worry Miss Took, I saw nothing." He tapped the side of his nose with a gloved finger and backed out of the room as quietly as he could muster, which again wasn't very quiet. For a split second she wondered how she hadn't heard his loud footfalls or the click of the door as it opened, but then remembered the pleasure Kili's touch had brought forth within her.

Kili and Calla looked at each other for a few seconds before dissolving into quiet giggles, both of their faces still flushed with the embarrassment of being caught in the act.

"Well, I guess we can thank the stars it was Bofur, I'm pretty sure uncle would have gone through the roof." Kili chuckled as he rolled off of her. He settled himself beside her, one arm behind his head and one encircling her waist.

"Don't even joke about that. It took him long enough to come around to me as it is." she squealed, landing a soft shove on his shoulder, but her lips twitched up into a small smile. She scrunched her eyes up tightly and yawned as a wave of fatigue engulfed her tiny frame.

Kili said nothing, but dragged the blanket over their prone forms and closed his eyes to sleep. That night's events would need to be addressed … but right now, sleep beckoned them both into its arms.


	27. The Bear Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all my wonderful readers!! It's good to be back, as much as I can be anyway. I'm seriously swamped with assignments, my 2 novels and an anthology, but I'm attempting to keep up with everything. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I know it took me forever, but please bare with me, and I do promise that the next one will be more Kili/Calla orientated rather than story building. Incidentally, if anyone would like to take a look at the work I have created for my masters so far, as well as the start of one of my novels, please have a look at my wattpad page (http://wattpad.com/CharlotteVPatrick) . I would be so grateful for all your support, a writer is in their element when they have readers who appreciate their work!

Calla yawned and squirmed tiredly, enjoying the warmth that radiated through Kili's body and onto her semi exposed skin. She kept her eyes screwed up tight determined to enjoy the moment of bliss; knowing it would be their last for what she suspected would be a long while. A cockerel had cawed far off in the distance and the noise of animals started to filter through the cabin's wooden walls. 

But these sounds were not what had woken the contented hobbit from her slumber; it was the heavy footsteps and a creak from the old door as it had been forced open. Deep, husky rhythmic breath cut through the laboured sound of the dwarf company's snores. 

Calla stilled, her heart felt as though it was lodged painfully in her wind pipe. Kili's snores made it clear that the dark haired prince was still tightly under the envelope of sleep, eyelashes fluttering across his high cheekbones as he snuffled and huffed unconsciously. She sat up, nervously tugging the gaping material of her dress back into it's original semi presentable state. For the hundredth time in her life she found herself internally thanking her ancestors for their nimble fingers and ability to move silently when they wished. 

She glanced at Kili quickly, tucking the blanket around his prone form in a loving gesture. Peeking around the edge of the oversized arm chair, she held her breath and watched as the door to their hideaway was nudged open.

“You twit! You frightened me!” Calla scolded her cousin playfully as Bilbo crawled in through the tiny gap, his face white as a sheet and tiny beads of sweat forming on his skin, matting his mousy curls to his forehead.   
“Shhh!” he winced at the barely raised volume of her voice and gave her a wide eyed stare. He paused in his course towards her momentarily, making sure to shut the enormous wooden panel as quietly as he could. 

“What is it?” she asked urgently, when the entryway was sealed and Bilbo continued in his crawling.  
“A man.” he breathed “I think.”  
“What do you mean you think?”  
“Exactly what I said, I think.”  
Calla raised her eyebrows in suspicion, but beckoned Bilbo to their spot beside the fire, waiting for him to tell her exactly what he meant. 

*****

“You truly are too kind Mr Beorn!” Calla gushed as she buttered another large hunk of bread, a spool already laden with thick, clear honey waited at her elbow. Bilbo grunted in agreement as he refilled an overly large tankard with full fat, creamy milk, a dizzyingly happy grin plastered across his face.   
The dwarves however were far less impressed, Dwalin moaned about the lack of meat, Fili and Kili pouted but still nibbled on the ends of a loaf each, their hunger being too much for them. Calla raised her eyebrows in amusement at her lover's dainty bites, that were uncharacteristic of him, evening in public.   
“It's not going to poison you or make you sick, love.”   
The comment earned her an evil dark eyed glare from the prince who made a low 'hrrmph' in the back of his throat. She rolled her eyes at his childish behaviour and took the bread from his larger hands, spreading a thick layer of butter and honey onto it.   
“Here, try this. It's good, I promise you.” He made a face at her, but opened his mouth, nipping a sizeable bite from the slice.   
He huffed clearly enjoying the morsel, but not wanting to show himself up in front of the company who were all watching the interaction in interest.  
“It's sweet.”  
“Yes, darling, that's honey. It's meant to be like that. You dwarves need to broaden your horizons, meat isn't the only food out there.”   
A rumble of annoyance and disagreement swept around the table, but calla suppressed a grin as she watched the dwarves fight over the table's pots of honey, eager to try the sticky substance. 

“Do you really not have honey where you come from?” Calla asked Thorin after a few seconds. The regal dwarf was the only one who's plate was empty and he watched his followers with a grave expression.   
“Our honey is sour. It is only used for cooking and to be added to tea and mead.” The king's voice was gruff.  
“I see. Well, you should eat something Thorin. We have a long journey ahead of us, and we need to keep our strengths up.”  
Her words fell on deaf ears, as the stubborn royal turned away. Calla sighed frustratedly, she was sick of Thorin and his hot and cold attitude, he either liked her and Bilbo or he didn't, he had no right to chop and change his mind whenever he felt like it. She was about to open her mouth to reprimand him when she felt Kili's large, warm hand wrap around her upper arm.   
“Let it go.” The young dwarf's velvety tone washed over Calla's tense shoulders and she leaned into him, pressing a quick, sweet kiss upon his lips, uncaring of their staring audience. 

Loud footsteps that shook the very furniture they perched upon announced the arrival of their host. Beorn was a large man with a wild mane of greying brown hair that stretched the length of his back and eked its way across his face in tufts. He looked menacing, but treated his unexpected guests with impeccable hospitality – much to Gandalf, and the company's relief. 

“So, you are the one they call Oakenshield?” His deep, booming voice held as much weight as his stance. He leaned over the table, refilling Fili's mug with fresh milk. Thorin merely pursed his lips and glanced as the skin changer over his shoulder. “Tell me, why is Azog the defiler on your tail?”

“You know of Azog? How?” Thorin's voice was quiet and strained, his face bore an expression that Calla could only describe as forlorn. An emotion the red haired hobbit would never have put with the proud dwarf.   
Kili must have felt the same way, his fingers digging unconsciously into the flesh of her arm and his breath catching in his chest cavity. 

“My people, we were the first to live in the mountains, before the orcs came down from the north. The defiler killed most of my family.” The massive bear man's eyes clouded as he began, his hardened features taking on a softer appearance. Calla sighed and bit her lip, her heart clenching in sympathy. “But some he enslaved.” A subtle move of his hand displayed the shackle that was tightly locked around the large wrist. “Not for work, but for sport. Caging skin changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him.”

The silence around the table was palpable as every one of the room's inhabitants listened with bated breath. A fidgeting and curious Bilbo was the only one brave enough to speak.  
“There were others? Like you I mean?”  
“There were once many of my kind.”  
“And now?”  
“Shh! Don't ask so many questions.” Calla reprimanded nudging her cousin below the table, the fate of his race was obviously a sore spot for Beorn and she felt for him.   
The skin changer offered her a soft smile in gratitude but shook his head, continuing to answer Bilbo's questions.   
“Now there is only one.” he paused for a beat before focusing his attention back on the brooding dwarf at the head of the table. “You need to reach the mountain before the final days of Autumn.”   
“Before Durin's day.”   
Beorn sighed heavily as he lowered himself into an oversized rocking chair, eyes still fixed on the uncrowned king. “You are running out of time.”

“Indeed, which is why we must go through Mirkwood.” Gandalf grumbled sucking on the end of his pipe.   
The skin changer's face fell and his voice became grave. “There is a darkness upon that forest. Foul things creep beneath those trees. It is no place for a woman.”

“Excuse me?” Calla asked her tone hurt as she narrowed her eyes on the giant. Kili soothingly stroked his hand down her back in an effort to calm the anger that had started to bubble in the pit of her belly at the insinuation.   
“A land of dark and dangerous creatures, it is no place for a lady. Any number of evils await you.”  
Calla huffed, knowing that her ingrained Hobbit manners forbade her from screaming her worth at the large man.   
“I can handle myself. I have seen my fair share of trouble along this road. I am prepared for more.” her tone was confident, with only a minor under tone of anger lacing through.   
“Very well.” Beorn answered shortly, turning his attention back to the grey wizard. “I would not venture there, except in great need.”  
“We will take the elven road. The path is still safe.”  
“Safe? The wood elves of Mirkwood are unlike their kin. They are less wise, and far more dangerous.” 

Calla glanced over her shoulder watching Thorin as he stood and began to pace, arms wrapped protectively around his chest. 

“But, it matters not.” Beorn continued, sipping some milk from his own mug.   
“What do you mean?” Thorin paused in his pacing, his icy blue gaze staring the larger male down.   
“These lands are crawling with orcs, their numbers are grow by the day. And you are on foot. You, Thorin Oakenshield, will never reach the forest alive.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you all liked it! I felt Kili needed a few stories, so I'd help get the ball rolling! This is an introductory chapter so it's quite short but I promise you they will be longer from now on! please comment and follow ... it makes me happy! I also know its not true to the book or film ... but its an oc story ... so... also i've only seen the film once so far so none of the lines have particularly stuck with me yet.
> 
> Happy reading everyone!
> 
> (For those of you that are wondering, yes, this the same story posted on FF.net)


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